Duel Monsters Virtual
by IndigoWerewolf
Summary: Our character is going to the virtual world to become a Player, someone who protects the civilians of the virtual world from the monsters who get into the cities. His parents are against it but he's determined to be the best. Has nothing to do with the Anime. On hiatus.
1. Introduction

Duel Monsters Virtual

Hello everybody, Indigo Werewolf with my newest story, Duel Monsters Virtual. I'm going to warn you now, this story has nothing at all to do with any of the Yu-Gi-Oh games, manga, or anime. This is an original concept that I came up with that has the Duel Monsters game from Yu-Gi-Oh in it. The only time this story will acknowledge the anime is a minor thought in this first chapter. So if you're looking for a story featuring characters from the games, manga, or anime, this story is not for you. With that said, let's get on with the story, and I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

I had a huge smile on my face as I packed my belongings into my suitcase. Where am I going, you ask? Well, before I can tell you that, I have to tell you about myself. I'm 18, male, about 5'9", with messy dark brown hair and fair skin. I have gray-blue eyes and have a modest build, not too skinny but not too plump, either.

Now that you know what I look like, I can tell you where I'm going. The virtual world. Specifically, Duel Monsters Virtual. It's a gigantic, completely immersive virtual reality RPG world that's connected to the rest of the virtual world, based on Duel Monsters and made by Seto Kaiba and Maximillian Pegasus. The best part is, it's absolutely free! And they can digitize your body and mind and reproduce them at any time! Well, any virtual world can do that, but it was still cool. Although, Kaiba didn't really want to work with Pegasus, but he kind of didn't have a choice since Pegasus is the creator of Duel Monsters…Sorry, I'm rambling.

I finished packing my things into my suitcase and lifted it to make sure it wasn't too heavy. Satisfied that I could carry it without any trouble, I put it back down on my bed and went over to my desk. I picked up my Deck, sat on my bed and looked through my cards to make sure I have all of them.

Once I had confirmed that they were all there, I put my Deck into its holster on my hip and got back up. Grabbing my suitcase, I went downstairs to the living room. I stopped on the staircase when I saw my mother was sitting on the couch crying into a handkerchief. My mom is blond, a little taller than me, with the same color eyes, and doesn't like the virtual world.

I sighed, slid down to sit on the stair and thought, 'Of course she doesn't want me to go. She's never understood how I feel about this.'

I took in a deep breath, got up, and walked down into the living room. My mom heard me coming in and looked up. Seeing me with my suitcase, she said, "Honey, please don't do this."

I replied with, "I have to, mom." Mom got a frustrated look on her face and said, "But why?! It's just a game! It's not worth throwing your life away!"

I tightened my grip on my suitcase and said, "I'm not throwing my life away!" My mom was about to say something back, but a voice from the kitchen said, "That's enough, dear."

My dad stepped into the room with a solemn look on his face. My dad is a bit taller than my mom and me, with dark brown hair the same color as mine and brown eyes. He doesn't like the virtual word either, but he doesn't want to stop me from going to it. "He's 18 honey, he's not a child. He can make his own decisions."

My dad said, walking over to the couch to sit with my mom. "But this is ridiculous! He's going to go to some giant video game and throw cards around!" I seethed internally at my mother's description of Duel Monsters. 'You know what? Fuck it.' I decided, and said to my mom, "It's more than that. Duelists in Duel Monsters Virtual don't just 'throw card around' all day. They help people."

"How?!" My mom demanded. I looked her dead in the eye and said, "They take care of the monsters that get into residential areas and cities."

My mom asked, "Wha-What?" Clearly surprised. I looked at her calmly and said, "Duel Monsters Virtual isn't just a game, mom. Ordinary people live there just like the rest of the virtual world, and sometimes, monsters from dungeon areas get into the places where those ordinary people live, and since they're Duel Monsters, they can only be defeated by Players."

My mom looked at the floor in shock at my words. After a moment, she looked up at me and said, "Why would you go, then? If you knew it was so dangerous?"

My shoulders sagged at the realization that my mom still didn't understand. I put my suitcase down, sat down in a chair across from the couch and said, "You remember when we went to that virtual restaurant for my 7th birthday?"

Flashback

A party of three sat at a table in a virtual restaurant that had a bar in an adjoining room. There was a blond woman with grey-blue eyes, a man with dark brown hair and brown eyes, and a young boy that had the woman's eyes and the man's hair that were sitting in the booth closest to the partition that separated the restaurant from the bar.

The boy was happily eating a slice of cake, while the man and woman were both eating the spaghetti. Suddenly, the woman said to the man, "I have to say, Robert, I'm not so sure about this." The man looked up from his food and asked his wife, "Not sure about what, Sarah?"

Sarah gestured around the room with her fork and said, "This. This virtual thing. I'm not sure I'm comfortable with us being here." Robert scrunched his eyebrows together in confusion and asked, "Why not?"

Before she could reply, a slurred voice asked, "Yeah, what's wrong with our bar, huh?" The man, woman, and child all turned to see that a group of men at the bar were currently glaring at them.

There were three of them, one with a bleached blond buzz-cut and wearing jeans and a leather jacket with a white T-shirt, one was bald and had a muscle shirt and jeans as well, and the last had a black T-shirt and jeans and brown hair in a mohawk. All looked to be very burly and tough.

The blond man was the one who had spoken, and Sarah stammered out, "Oh no, th-there's nothing wrong with the bar-". "You're damn right lady, me and my buds come here every night, so there better not be anything wrong with it!" The man, who appeared to be the leader of the group interrupted her.

Robert got up and said, "You know, we really need to be going. We'll just get the check and-". "Sit down." The man growled out.

Robert complied and the man said, "Look, you insult our bar, you insult us, and we don't take insults likely." "Look, w-we don't want any trouble." Robert said, nervously.

The man gave a big shit-eating grin and said, "Well you got trouble, pal. We're going to settle this the same way we settle everything else. With a Duel." The man pulled out a deck of cards from a holster on his hips and started cutting them.

Robert looked at the man shuffling his cards and said, "Duel? I-I don't know what you're talking about." The man ceased his shuffling and said, "You're not a Duelist? Then what the fuck are you doing here?!" Robert said, "We-We're here for my son's birthday. H-He's always wanted to come to the virtual world so we figured we'd give it a try."

The man face-palmed and said to himself, "The whole time we've been arguing, and they're not even Duelists?" He looked up at the party of three, and said, "How about your lady, huh? She Duel?" Sarah jumped and said, "N-No!" The three men groaned and all face-palmed again. "I'll duel you." A squeaky voice called out.

Everyone in the restaurant turned to look at the source of the voice, which was the young boy who was with the couple, who had finished his cake. The blond man smiled wide and said, "You! Hahahahaha!" His friends joined in laughing at the boy until the man wiped a tear from his eye and said, "That'd be the day. Tell you what kid, I like your spirit. Let's Duel, and if you win your check is on us, ok?"

The boy smiled and said, "Okay!" Excitedly. Sarah grabbed her son's arm and said, "Honey, I don't know what they mean, but it can't be good. Let's just leave." Robert put his hand on his wife's shoulder and told her, "Sarah, I think it's that card game he likes. I don't get why they want to do this but we had better just stay out of it. If we intervene, things might get ugly."

Sarah nodded and released her son, who took out his own Deck. The burly man pulled up a table and the two sat down and cut each other's decks. Once they were done, they drew their hands and the Duel began.

"I attack your Life Points directly with my Torike!" The young boy's voice called out, as a small green hologram of a monster struck a hologram of a crumbling statue of the blond man, which broke into pieces.

Everyone in the restaurant looked at the results of the duel in shock, as the words, "Winner! Challenger!" Flashed in the air above the pair before all of the holograms disappeared. There was no one more surprised than the burly blond man, who had his mouth open as he dropped the rest of the cards in his hand in disbelief.

He closed it, then looked down until his eyes couldn't be seen as his entire body started to tremble. Everyone backed away as he appeared to get angry, and the boy's parents reached for him to leave, but flinched back when he suddenly burst out in a fit of roaring laughter. "HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Once his laughter subsided, he said to the young boy, "That was a great duel kid, I haven't had a thrashing like that in a while." The boy's parents looked at each other and then at the blond man, and Sarah asked, "So, he-he won?" The man looked to the woman with a grin on his face and said, "Yeah, he won. Beat me good, too."

He stood up and retrieved his cards, as did the boy. Once they both had their full Decks back, the boy went over to his parents, who hugged him in relief. The man looked to the family and said to the waiter and said, "Put their check on my bill."

Robert looked to the man in surprise and said, "Oh, you don't have to do that." The man, still grinning, said, "No, I'm a man of my word. Name's Jack Barns, sorry about earlier, I can be a mean drunk sometimes."

He then crouched down in front of the boy and told him, "You've got some serious potential as a Duelist kid, you could even come back here someday as a Player." The boy took on a confused expression and asked, "A Player?" The man grinned and explained, "Yeah, a player. My friends and I are all Players, which means we battle against monsters in dungeon areas. But more than that, we protect people from the ones that get into the cities."

The man continued with a somber look on his face, "See, it's a big world, and sometimes monsters get into places they're not supposed to go. We defeat them when they do so they don't hurt people."

The man continued his explanation, now taking on a friendly smile. "Does that sound like something you'd like to do, kid?" The boy got a big grin on his face and said, "Yeah!" in awe.

Jack smiled at him and told him, "Then you can. Just trust in your Deck and follow your heart and there's nothing you can't do."

Flashback End

I sat in the chair with my hands together looking down at the floor. My mom looked at me in shock and quietly said, "I can't believe you remember that."

I looked up at her and said, "How could I forget? That was the day I decided I wanted to be a Player. I want to help people, mom. I know you don't like the virtual world, but there are a lot of people there who depend on Players to protect them from monsters that glitch into cities."

My mom looked at my dad, who nodded, and she got up and walked over to me. I got up too, and she hugged me tightly. I hugged her back, and she said sadly, "If that's what you want to do…then I won't stop you. Just please be safe." I grinned and told her, "You're saying it like I'm not coming back. I can come to visit at any time, and I am going to you know."

My mom pulled back to look at me and said, "Then make sure you do." With tears in her eyes. My dad walked up to the two of us and joined in on the hug. "Take care of yourself, kiddo." He said.

I grinned and told him, "I will, dad." With our tearful goodbye over, I picked my suitcase back up and we all hugged one last time and I walked out the door.

I walked a few blocks to the Virtual Duelist Registry and walked through the doors. I went over to the receptionist and told her, "Hi. I'd like to become a Player."

The receptionist smiled at me and said, "Are you sure? It's a big responsibility, you know." I smiled at her and said, "Yes. I'm sure." The receptionist typed a few things on her computer and said, "Okay, I just need your name." I grinned at her and told her, "It's Karo. Karo Akaroe." 

Holy shit, this thing is long. Well, everyone, I hope you liked it, and if you did, leave a review. But no flames please. IW out!


	2. Duel Exam

Hello everyone, IndigoWerewolf here with the second chapter of Duel Monsters Virtual. I'm sorry about not posting a new chapter of Griefer in a while, but I promise I'll post a new one soon. That said, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh and let's get on with the chapter!

The receptionist typed my name into the computer and told me, "Okay, Mr. Akaroe, just come with me and we'll get your entrance exam started. There'll be a written exam and a practical one. You can leave your luggage in that room over there." She pointed at a door that had a picture of a suitcase on it. I dropped off my suitcase in the room and followed the receptionist down a hallway. She led me into a nearby room, where there were about thirty other people all sitting at desks with papers and pencils on them. Nobody was writing so I figured that the test hadn't started yet. The receptionist left the room and I took a seat at an empty desk. After a few minutes, in which a few more people showed up, a large, muscled man with black slicked-back hair showed up. He was wearing a brown trench coat, a black shirt, and brown pants with combat boots.

He turned to face all of the examinees and after a moment said, "All right, listen up because I'm only going to say this once. My name is Michael Thorn, and I will be your overseer for this exam. This exam is fifty questions, if you need a spare pencil there are plenty in the box on my desk, there will be no breaks, and anyone caught cheating will be immediately disqualified. Do I make myself clear?!" A chorus of "Yes" sounded throughout the room, and the man sat down at a desk in the front of the room, which had the aforementioned box of pencils on it. I flipped my test over and looked over the first question. "What is the Ojama's collective special ability?" I penciled in "Delta Destruction, which destroys every monster on the opponent's side of the field." There were a lot more questions that I'm sure were difficult, but they were no problem for me, and I finished about five minutes before everyone else. Once the last pencil had stopped scratching on its owners test, Thorn stood up and addressed the room again. "Okay, now that we've all finished, we'll move on to the practical exam. If everyone will follow me, we can begin." Everyone in the room followed him through a door on the opposite side from where we came in, and there were six dueling arenas in a large, cavernous room with an observation deck, which we were currently standing in.

Thorn turned to face the group and told us all, "Okay, we will be going in alphabetical order by your last names, you all will be dueling against computers with different difficulty settings. The settings will not affect your score or whether or not you pass. They are simply to determine the rewards you will receive upon entering the virtual world. You will all be dueling against computers. Also, winning the duel will not automatically guarantee a pass." There was a wave of murmuring and Thorn raised his voice above it. "You will be graded based on how well you duel, so it is possible to win and fail, or lose and pass. That said, will the following examinees step up to a dueling arena?" He pulled out a piece of paper and read six names off of it, the fourth of which was mine.

I walked down the stairs to the dueling arena that had a number four on each corner, and noticed that there were a number of people holding clipboards in more observation decks aside from the main one where we came in. I stepped into the red side of the arena. A large screen popped up on the other side, and a computerized voice said, "Please select the difficulty level, Easy, Medium, or Hard." I looked around and saw that all of the others had chosen Easy, so I grinned and exclaimed, "Hard." The computer said, "Confirmed. Hard Difficulty chosen. Start Duel." I placed my Deck on the board and drew my hand.

*Timeskip*

The computer's Life Points dropped to zero, and it said, "Duel over. You Win. Congratulations." And powered off. I retrieved my Deck and went back to the main observation deck. I went up to Thorn and asked him, "Did I pass?" His eyes glanced at me briefly without his head turning towards me before looking over the rest of the waiting examinees, and he said, "Ask Max. That's not my job." Confused, I asked him, "Who's Max?" He pointed his thumb towards the observation deck behind my arena and said, "He's the one with the lab coat." I walked over to the deck and went up the stairs to see that there was indeed a man with a lab coat standing there. He beamed when he saw me, and walked up to me and said, "Hello Mr. Akaroe, my name is Maxwell Callaway, and I am happy to say that you passed with flying colors." I felt my heart leap when he said that, and I asked him, "Really?" Excitedly. He nodded quickly and said, "Yes, you did. And on Hard, too. It's really very astonishing, this has never happened before." He went on to say, "If you could just follow me, we can get you digitized and into the virtual world. And don't worry, your luggage has already been sent over." I asked him in surprise, "Now?" He looked back at me from where he had walked forward and said, "Well, yes. No time like the present!"

I got over my surprise and followed Max into another room filled with grey open-faced pods in them. They were large and vaguely cone-shaped, with curved sides and a blunt tip. "Digitization pods." I said breathlessly. Max and I walked over to a pod and he tapped some buttons on a panel, then told me, "Okay, we just need to select your Attribute and Type." Confused, I asked, "For what?" Max smiled at me and said, "Every player has a Type and an Attribute. The dungeon areas are full of wild Monsters, and you'll have to battle them yourself. Choose carefully, the Type and Attribute you choose will determine how well you do against wild Monsters. When you reach a high enough level, you can even choose a second Attribute." I thought about it for a second, then told Max, "Okay, for my Attribute I choose Dark, and for my type I choose Fairy." Max typed my choices into the computer, then said, "Now you need to choose a Player color. This is so that you can recognize your cards if they ever get stolen. Their borders will turn the color you choose." I thought about it and told him, "Purple." He typed a little more, and various shades of purple came up on a screen. He told me, "Now you need to pick a shade of purple." I looked over the various shades and selected a deep, amethyst shade. He typed my Player Color into the screen and said, "Okay, if you will just step into the pod, we can begin." I walked over to the pod he had indicated and walked in. A panel of glass slid down from the top and sealed me in. I could see Max put on a headset outside the pod. His voice sounded in from the inside of the pod, "Okay, Karo, whenever you're ready we can start the digitization process." I took a deep breath and told him, "I'm ready." He tapped a few more buttons, muttering to himself as he did so. "Power source stable. Connection synchronized. All systems ready. And…Digitize!" With the last word, he pressed down on a large red button on the end of the panel. Instantly, an electric blue arc of electricity shot down from the top of the pod. It connected with the top of my head, but I felt no pain, only a buzzing sensation. The beam immobilized me, and four similar beams came from the sides of the pod, one connecting with each of my hands and feet. I felt the same buzz as with the first, then a sensation like my left hand falling asleep, and I could see it turn slowly to the same electric blue energy as the beam slowly traveled up it out of the corner of my eye. Slowly, the rest of my body followed suit, and eventually I had been completely turned into energy. Once my body was done with its metamorphosis, I was pulled into the top of the pod and into the virtual world.

*At KaibaCorp Headquarters*

Seto Kaiba sat bored at his computer looking over the newest results from the Player exams. The scores were average, nothing to write home about, all except one that is. He saw that one applicant had gotten a 97%, and on Hard mode. He sat up straight in his chair, looked at the screen in and muttered to himself, "What? This has to be a mistake, no one has ever gotten that high a score on Hard before." He refreshed the page, and the score was the same. He checked the system for glitches, and none came up. Seto put his hand on his chin and rubbed it, thinking, 'Perhaps there is someone who was able to do so well on Hard.' He opened a video call to the head of the Player Union in the virtual world. There was a brief moment before the window opened, and a young boy with green hair and teal eyes showed up on the screen. "Noah, have you seen the newest batch of applicants' scores yet?" Kaiba asked his adoptive brother.

"Yes, as a matter of fact I was just about to call you." Noah told him. "It's about the one who scored a 97 on Hard, correct?" The young boy asked. Kaiba asked him, "So you saw it too, huh? I was starting to think that it was a mistake." Noah replied to him, "No, I checked the entire system inside and out. It's legitimate." Kaiba narrowed his eyes and told him, "I want to know where he's from and what his name is." Noah gave him a grin and said, "I'm already ahead of you, Seto. I've got his file right here. I'm sending it to you now." Not a second after he was done speaking, an alert came up that he had a message. Kaiba opened it and looked over the contents. "Hm, Karo Akaroe, age 18, male, participated in fifteen dueling tournaments in his hometown and won all but two of them. It says he has taken multiple classes in high school pertaining to being a Player, including Virtual Combat, Virtual Dueling and Deck Master Dueling, and he's taken the Player Aptitude Test." Kaiba read off the screen. Noah, who was reading over the same file, told him, "Yes, and it would appear that he is a very exceptional duelist." Kaiba thought for a second, then closed his eyes with a smug grin on his face and said, "It takes more than dueling skills to be a Player, Noah. I say we give him a little test." "What kind of test?" The green haired boy asked. Kaiba opened his eyes and began typing on his computer, "A test that will determine if he _really_ has what it takes to be a Player." Noah, seeing what Kaiba was doing asked, "Seto, are you sure he's ready for this?" Kaiba finished his work on the computer and leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed. "If he's not by now, with all of the preparation he's done, then he has no business being a Player." Noah had a worried look on his face as he said, "I hope you know what you're doing, Seto." Kaiba grinned wider and said, "Don't I always?" Before closing the video call, Kaiba told his virtual brother, "Get me a recording of his Practical Exam. I want to see how this kid Duels. Keep an eye on him in the virtual world too, and let me know if anything happens." Noah replied to Kaiba, "I'm on it Seto, I just hope this doesn't come back to haunt us." Kaiba rolled his eyes, then told him, "You're too paranoid, Noah." Then ended the call.

Kaiba got up from his chair, then walked out of his office, thinking to himself, 'This is going to be interesting. And if not, then at least it will be entertaining.'

*In the Virtual World*

I was placed in a pod in an arc of blue energy to see glimpses of a large room, with multiple scientists standing around my pod. As quickly as I arrived however, the blue energy covered me again, and after a few moments I saw the blue recede from my vision, only to see a lighter shade of blue. Instantly, I started to fall, and I screamed at the top of my lungs. "AAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" As I screamed, I looked down and saw trees and forest far below me. I realized that I had spawned in the virtual world a hundred feet in the air. I calmed down and tried to think of what to do before I hit the ground. I remembered learning that there was no fall damage in the virtual world in school, but I still didn't want to end up in a Karo-shaped crater in the forest. A gust of wind blew me off balance and I spun around and around in the air, spinning out of control as I screamed again. Suddenly, the latch on my Deck holster came undone, and my cards all came out and flew into the air. "My Deck!" I yelled in panic, and desperately tried to catch them. I failed, however, and I saw all of my cards fall to the ground. "Nooooooooo!" I screamed, and fell onto a tree branch. It wasn't enough to break my fall however, as I fell further, hitting more branches until I fell painfully to the ground.

"Owwww." I groaned, as every part of my body ached. Once it had subsided enough for me to move, I pushed myself up and felt my Deck holster. Just as I feared, it was empty. I tried to get up, only for pain to shoot down my legs. Wincing, I sat down and thought, 'My Deck is gone. What am I going to do?' As I felt myself start to panic, I tried to calm down again, and thought to myself, 'Just calm down, Karo. I'm sure there's a shop somewhere where you can get some new cards.' I felt my heart drop into my stomach at the thought of replacing all of my cards, but I knew that I would never find all of them, and even if I did, most of them would probably be ruined. Feeling the pain die down, I got up and looked around. I noticed a band on the wrist of my left hand, which was also my non-dominant hand, and I lifted my arm up to examine it. It was a bit like a rubber wristband someone might wear to support a cause, only thicker, harder, and it was the exact shade of purple as my Player Color. There was also a solid half-globe gem in the middle. Looking down at myself, I saw that I was wearing a plain white T-shirt and white pants and no shoes. Going back to my surroundings, I noticed that there were trees all around, not surprising since this was a forest. 'This must be a dungeon area. That means that I've got to get somewhere safe and fast.' I thought. I walked up to a tree and started to climb up it to try and get my bearings. Once I reached the top, I looked all around and saw a small town not far from where I was. Suddenly, I saw a flash of light coming from somewhere to my right, and heard someone scream, "Heeeelp!"

Wow, these chapters are always way longer than I think they're going to be. I guess I'm going to have to end it here. This story is going to end up way longer than I thought it was going to be because I cannot tell as much in one chapter as I thought. Until next time!


	3. First Blood

Hello everyone, IndigoWerewolf here. Sorry about not updating, I've been kind of busy lately. This is the third chapter of Duel Monsters Virtual, but not to worry, I will update Griefer soon. With that in mind, I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh and let's read!

I heard someone yell, "Help!" from somewhere to my right, and I turned my head to see a flash of light. "I have to help them!" I exclaimed, and jumped down the tree branch to branch, and when I reached the ground, I ran towards the commotion. I heard the cry for help again, and saw an even brighter flash. I reached a clearing and pushed through the thicket surrounding it to see a sight that truly shocked me.

A Petit Dragon was fluttering in the air near the far side of the clearing, and it was spitting fireballs at an old man cowering behind a bush, most of them missing their mark. "Heeelp!" The man screamed, as a ball of flame set the bush ablaze. I got over my surprise and tried to think of a way to help. Without my Deck, I can't summon any monsters to fight it, and I didn't have any weapons to take it on myself. I then remembered something my Virtual Combat instructor had told me.

*Flashback*

"Okay, now that we've finished going over Melee Weapons, let's move on to Projectile Weapons." A bald man with a button-up shirt, khakis, loafers, and a tie said, writing the last two words on a whiteboard. Someone in the class raised their hand and asked, "What are Projectile Weapons?" The teacher turned to face him and replied, "I'm glad you asked Jimmy, Projectile Weapons are any weapons that are launched or shot at an opponent." Another person asked, "Shot? Like from a gun?" The teacher faced the new speaker and told him, "Not quite, Darren, like I've said before, there are no modern weapons in Duel Monsters Virtual so it's more akin to a bow and arrow than a gun. That being said, Projectile Weapons also include thrown weapons, such as shuriken and throwing knives. The most basic Projectile Weapon is also thrown at an opponent, and is a simple stone." Surprised, I raised my hand and asked the teacher, "Why a stone?" The teacher faced me and told me, "Well, Karo, it's very simple, stones are very common in dungeon areas and are a good way to distract a monster if needed, and are also very effective against weaker monsters."

*Flashback End*

I looked around the clearing and saw that there were several smooth, good-sized stones around the clearing. I picked one up that was by my feet, pulled my arm back and threw it as hard as I could at the Petit Dragon's head. It connected with the monster and it reeled back, shaking its head. It glared at me and I saw a green bar appear over its head. Recognizing it as the Health Bar, I picked up another rock and threw it at the Petit Dragon. This time it dodged, and attacked me with a fireball. I rolled out of the way and it spat another one at me. I ran around the clearing as it bombarded me with a barrage of flame. As I ran, I saw a rock the size of my fist by the bush where the old man was still hiding.

"Hey! You!" I yelled at the man. He jumped and said, "What? What do you want?" I kept running from the Petit Dragon and told him, "Toss me that rock! The big one by your foot!" He looked at the rock, then at me and asked, "Why?" I narrowly avoided a fireball and yelled, "Just do it!" He looked at me like I was crazy, then picked up the rock and said, "I hope you know what you're doing, kid!" and tossed it at me underhand. I caught it in both hands and muttered, "So do I." I led the Dragon towards the end of the clearing, then juked towards the center. I slowed down to let it catch up, and as it flapped towards me, charging up a fireball, I stuck my hand with the rock out, then spun on my heel and launched the stone point-blank at its face, using the momentum from my spin to give it more force. The Petit Dragon's Health Bar went down to zero, and it flew back, turning upside-down in the air, before it froze in mid-air. Suddenly, white energy started spreading across its body until it was nothing more than a silhouette of itself. Then, little orbs of the energy started breaking off and moving towards me. The energy absorbed itself into my chest, and more and more started breaking off, picking up speed, until the enemy had completely absorbed itself into my body.

Before I could react to that, I heard cheering coming from behind me, and I turned around to see that the old man had come out of his hiding spot and was rejoicing. Now that the danger was over, I saw that he was rather scrawny, and had a scraggly beard and hair and dirty clothes, along with dirty hands and feet. He was also wearing a white drawstring backpack made of cloth, with a single strap that went diagonally across his chest. He came up to me and vigorously shook my hand with both of his. "Thank you, bucko, thank you so much. That thing would have made mincemeat of me if you hadn't come along." The man said. I said, as he kept shaking my hand, "Uh, you're welcome. Hey, do you know what was up with that thing? Why it broke up and just sort of…shlooped into me?" The man pulled back, ignoring my question, and pulled off his backpack. He held it to me and said, "Here, I-I want you to have this. It's not much, but I'd still like you to have it." I looked at it and told him, "Oh no, I-I couldn't." He then pushed it into my hands and said, "No no, I insist." He lumbered off towards the edge of the clearing and before he left he said, "Take care of yourself, kiddo!" And dived through the bushes.

I stared at the spot he had been for a moment and muttered to myself, "Well that was weird." Suddenly, holographic words appeared in the air in front of me. "Congratulations! You have just completed your first Random Encounter!" 'Random Encounter?' I thought to myself, as the words continued. "Random Encounters are small events that occur randomly in Dungeons, and usually have good rewards for those who complete them. The difficulty and rewards will depend on your level and what Dungeon you're in. Multiple Players can work together to perform one Encounter, but they're first come, first serve, so only the one who first started it will receive the rewards." With that, the words ended. Before I could start to process what I had just learned however, a voice behind me cried out, "Oh goddamn it!"

I turned to see a young woman about my age walk into the clearing. She had long, blond hair reaching halfway down her back, and a modest figure with what I think were about C-cup breasts, but it was a bit hard to tell since wearing a sleeveless shirt made of brown leather over a plain white shirt, with white pants reaching down to her ankles and no shoes, like me. She was also wearing a wristband like the one I had on her right wrist, only hers was jade green. In her other hand, she was holding a small bow, and a quiver on her back. She had an angry look on her face as she exclaimed, "I've been looking for this Encounter for three hours and when I finally get to it, I see some Noob has gone and taken it." I told her, "Uh, well I'm sorry. I guess." The girl put her bow away and sighed, then said, "Don't apologize, it's not your fault. Besides, it looks like you need it more than I do." Confused, I asked her, "What do you mean?" The girl rolled her eyes and said, "Well, you're new here, right?" I told her, "Yeah, why?" She blinked and said, "Well, look at you. You don't have any armor besides your Noob gear, and you don't even have a weapon. It's not too smart to come out to a Dungeon without one, even easy ones like this." I felt anger bubble up inside of me and sarcastically said, "Well excuse me. Next time I spawn a hundred feet in the air I'll grab a Greatsword on the way down."

The girl seemed taken aback, and asked, "Wait, what? You-you just spawned a hundred feet up in the air? When you first came in?" This time it was my turn to roll my eyes as I said, "Yes. I lost all my cards on the way down, too. Look." I put my new bag on my back and turned so she could see my empty Deck holster on my right hip. The mystery girl put her hands over her mouth and walked over to me. "Oh my goodness." She whispered. Just then, a thought occurred to me, and I asked her, "Have you seen any of them? They have a purple border, like this." I pointed at my Band to show her my Player Color. The girl looked nervous as she said, "Look, um…" "Karo." I told her. "Karo. My name's Rhea by the way." Rhea said offhandedly. "In dungeons, Items dropped by Players, like on the ground, only have a one hour life before they disappear. And that includes cards." I was shocked as I said, "What? Bu-but I didn't drop my cards, they fell!" Rhea had a pitying look on her face as she said, "It doesn't matter. Once they touch the ground, they have one hour before they're deleted." I hung my head in shock. I had known that I wouldn't be able to get my whole Deck back, but I figured that I would at least be able to find a few of my cards. Now, that hope was dashed.

Rhea put her hand on my shoulder and said, "Hey, are you okay?" I looked up at her and said in a monotone, "Yeah, I'll be okay. Can you please point me towards town?" Rhea pointed north-east and said worriedly, "If you go that way, you'll reach it in about an hour. You sure you're okay?" She turned back towards me with the last sentence. I faked a smile and told her, "Yeah. Thanks for the directions." And started to walk away. As I was about to leave the clearing, Rhea shouted, "Wait!" I turned around to see her running towards me with her hand outstretched. When she reached me, she said, "You should check the reward you got from the Encounter. There could be a weapon or something." Her advice snapped me out of my shock, and I slipped the bag over my head and opened it to see a dagger made of bronze, a few gold coins with an emblem in the shape of the back of a Duel Monsters card on one side of them, and the letters 'DMV' on the other. There was also a black cloak with an amethyst clasp in the shape of a raven. Rhea gasped and said, "Wow, that cloak is really good." I looked at her and asked, "How can you tell?" In response, Rhea told me, "I got the Treasure Hunter ability the last time I leveled up. It lets me recognize rare or valuable items." Rhea looked as if she had been reminded of something and said, "Hey, speaking of which, you should check if you leveled up from that last battle. Random Encounter and Event monsters are a lot stronger and give more EXP than normal ones." A light bulb went off in my head and I said, "Oh, so the weird light that went into me was EXP. I was wondering what the hell that was." Rhea giggled and said, "Yeah, that's how it works here. Pretty cool, huh?"

I smiled and said, "Actually, yeah it is." There was a moment when neither of us said anything, and then Rhea said, "Well, check if you leveled up!" "How?" I asked her. Rhea smiled and said, "Tap the gem on your Band. That'll bring up your profile." I did as she said and a holographic screen the same color as my Band came up with my information on it, along with my picture, stats, Attribute, Type, and level. As Rhea had said, I had leveled up. "Dark Fairy, huh? Not many people choose that combination." A little offended, I asked her, "Well what's yours?" "Wind Warrior." She replied. Before I could say anything, she told me, "Okay, now select 'Abilities.'" I did as she said, and the screen changed, to be replaced with a list of different powers I could unlock, along with their descriptions. I saw the words, "Ability Points" in the top left of the screen, and the number one next to it. Taking that to mean I could unlock one ability, I scrolled through the different ones. I couldn't unlock many at my level, but they were all fighting oriented, and none of them appealed to me. I saw a tab that said, "Non-Combat" and selected it. Different abilities replaced the old ones, these ones focused on gathering items and other things not affiliated with fighting. I could only choose one of three right now, and the choices were, "Herbalist: Allows you to pick certain plants to sell or make into accessories or medicine." There was also "Shadow Touch: Lets you extinguish light sources for a limited time." The one that really caught my eye though was the one called, "Flight: Gives you a small pair of wings that you can use to glide or fly. Also unlocks the Flight skill tree." I selected Flight and it asked me to select a style and color for my wings. I chose "Angel 2" and "Black". I then felt an odd sensation on my shoulder blades, then a sense of pressure. Taking my shirt off, I looked over my shoulder and saw two miniature black-feathered wings that were connected to my shoulders at a single joint instead of on a joint line, which from the preview I knew the Angel 1 would have been. They curved down slightly and then back up, then down again at the ends. Just then, I felt a sharp pain on the left one, and I cried out, "Ow!" I turned to Rhea, who was holding up one of my feathers and twisting it in her fingers. "What was that for?" I said indignantly. She smiled and said, "Sorry, I couldn't resist. I'm really surprised you picked that though, and not a fighting ability. Most Players do that on their first ability." I rubbed my wing where she had plucked the feather out and said, "Yeah well, I'm not most Players." Rhea handed me the feather and said, "From what I've seen so far, I'd say that you're absolutely right." I then cut two slits in my shirt for my wings with the dagger I had gotten and pulled it back on. It was not as easy as I thought it would be, and I jumped around trying to get my wings to line up with the holes I had made, Rhea giggling the whole time. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?" I asked her, struggling with my shirt. Rhea nodded, still giggling. I finally managed to put my wings through the holes I had made and get my shirt on.

I held the dagger awkwardly, not sure where to put it. I asked Rhea, "Am I just supposed to hold this, or...?" I left the question hanging so she could answer, and she said, "Open your menu again, then select Equipment, pick your dagger, then select Equip." I did as she said, then a holster appeared on my left hip. I slid my dagger into it, then pulled out the cloak. I sweat-dropped anime style at the thought of going through another ordeal like the one with my shirt, and Rhea said, "Don't worry. It'll get out of your way when you fly." Surprised, I looked at her and said, "Really?" She nodded, and I shrugged and pulled it on. Experimentally, I flapped my wings. My cloak shortened itself so it was just the hood and clasp, and I rose a few inches off the ground, but once I reached the ground it returned to normal. Rhea told me, "You'll be able to go higher and your wings will get bigger as you use them. Eventually, you'll be able to actually fly." I asked her, "How do you know so much about this?" She giggled and told me, "I have a friend who has this ability." I looked at Rhea and said, "You couldn't have told me about that when I was putting on my shirt?" In a deadpan voice. Rhea giggled and said, "It only works for stuff that covers your back. Not shirts and stuff." I nodded and said, "Well, now that that's out of the way, can you tell me what the heck these are?" I pulled one of the coins out of my bag and held it up. Rhea smiled and said, "Those are Coins. They're the currency here." I looked at her and said, "Really? They're really called Coins?" Rhea smiled sympathetically and said, "Yeah, I know." I face-palmed and put the coin back in the bag.

I pulled the hood of my cloak off my head to keep it out of my way and got ready to go in the direction where Rhea had pointed me earlier, but as a thought occurred to me, I turned to her and said, "You want to come with me?" Rhea smiled and said, "No thanks. I think I'll stay out here for a while and try to farm some EXP." I nodded at her and left the clearing towards the town I had seen while I was in the tree.

Son of a bitch, these are always longer than I think they'll be. Sorry they're so long but I have no idea how long a chapter will be when I start to write it, and I never get to the point I want to. See you all later!


	4. Stretching your Wings

Hello everyone, IndigoWerewolf again with the next chapter of Duel Monsters Virtual. Now before we get started I have a few things I want to say. First of all, since I'm not able to tell as much of this story in one chapter as I had hoped, I will try to write a new chapter once a day. Secondly, I will be writing new chapters for my other stories and for the one I'm hoping to write soon, which is on my profile. Now that that's out of the way, I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh and let's get on with the story!

I walked for about a half an hour towards the town Rhea had pointed out to me before I started to feel the ground rumbling. 'What the hell is that?' I thought to myself. The rumbling got closer, and I started to hear loud thumps coming from a point about thirty feet to my right, and I turned to see that trees and bushes were being pushed out of the way. I started running in the opposite direction, and I jumped and flapped my wings, rising off the ground towards a tree. I grabbed onto a branch just as a gigantic monster came out of the trees.

"A Man-Eating Treasure Chest", I whispered to myself. The purple Fiend type was far larger than I ever thought it would be, looking like it would being able to swallow two of me whole, and it was snapping around at the base of the tree trying to get at me, closing and opening its mouth to hop forward. It also had a Health Bar above it, but this one was a lot thicker and longer than the Petit Dragon's. Panicking, I hopped upwards from branch to branch, using my wings to boost myself higher, until I had reached the top. Once I did, the Chest backed off from the tree and closed its mouth. I relaxed against the top branch and let out a sigh of relief. It would seem I had done so far too soon however, as the tree rumbled and I grabbed the top of the tree. Thankfully, the branches were sparse, so I could see that the Chest had closed its mouth again. Suddenly, it opened and shot forward, this time splintering the trunk. 'It's trying to knock the tree down.' I realized. I desperately tried to think of a plan as the creature smashed against the tree. Once it started to tilt towards the Man-Eating Treasure Chest, I got an idea. I spotted a tree across from the one I was in and braced myself against the trunk.

With one last smash, the tree started to come down, and I waited a second, then launched myself off of the top of the tree and flapped my wings to try and get into the tree I had spotted earlier. I grabbed onto a branch near the middle of the tree and looked down. The Chest had seen me and was moving towards me, but the tree it had toppled got to it first. It smashed onto the Chest, and it disappeared under the leaves and branches. I let out another sigh of relief, but once again it was premature as the monster emerged from the wreckage of the Oak, with its Health Bar three-quarters of the way gone. "Oh come on!" I shouted, exasperated. As it moved towards my new tree, I climbed to the top and pulled my dagger from its sheath, gripping it with the blade pointed down. As it neared my tree, I jumped off and plummeted down towards the Fiend-Type. I held the blade in both of my hands over my head, screaming the whole way down. I smashed into the monster, using the momentum from my fall to drive the blade deep into the top of the Fiend. I jumped off of the monster, taking my dagger with it. The health bar dropped down to zero, and I watched as it dissolved into EXP and was absorbed into my body. Once it was over however, I noticed that there was something at the center, which dropped to the ground once the Chest was completely gone. I walked over to where it had fallen and picked it up.

It was a card, with a gold body and border, with a picture of what looked like a big mound of Coins. It didn't have any indicator for ATK or DEF points, and it wasn't the right color to be a Trap or Magic card, so it couldn't have been a Duel Monsters Card. I shrugged and put it in my pocket, resolving to ask somebody about it once I got to town. I continued on my journey, this time going uninterrupted. After another half hour of walking, I finally reached the town. It was a bit old-fashioned, with dirt roads and one-story wooden buildings and houses. It also didn't look to be very big, with only a few people walking down the sidewalks, and none of them wearing the Bands that identified them as Players. I walked down the main street, trying to find a Card shop. After I didn't find it, I went up to a booth that had a 'Help' sign over it and asked the woman there, "Excuse me, is there a shop in this town that sells Duel Monsters cards?" The woman smiled at me and asked, "Oh, you're a new Player, aren't you?" I told her, "Yes, why?" The attendant giggled and said, "Sorry, it's that new Players to this town all the time asking where the Card shop is. Anyway, it's actually not in this part of town." I looked at her confused and asked, "It's not?" She smiled and said, "No, it's in the Player District. This is the Residential District. See, this town is pretty small and it's sort of a beginner area for new Players, so they come here a lot, and they Duel each other a lot to try and test each other's skills, so we had to set aside part of the town so that the Players could get what they need and Duel without disturbing the residents." She pointed towards a street to the left and continued, "Just walk down that street and you'll see the Card shop on your left." I thanked her and went down the way she had indicated.

Sure enough, there was another part of town, although this one was a bit smaller, consisting of only one square with four shops. The stores were Player-oriented, with Weapon and Equipment Shops at the far end next to each other, the Equipment Shop on the left and the Weapons shop on the right with the road into a large empty cul-de-sac separating them, with another separating the Equipment Shop from the Card Shop, and another separating the Weapons Shop from a store I didn't recognize, that had a cauldron logo above its doors. The cul-de-sacs on the left and right were occupied by Duels, and there was an odd blue panel in the center of the square that Players were standing on and disappearing into, along with another one right next to it where more were arriving. "Must be some sort of Teleportation service." I said to myself. I walked into the Card Shop to see shelves with cards lining the walls and a man sitting at a counter on the far end that had shelves of its own, these ones having card packs, and his face hidden by a newspaper.

I walked up to the man and said, "Uh, excuse me, sir?" The man turned the page of his paper and ignored me. Confused, I said, "Sir, if I could just have a moment of your time-" "Fuck off." The man said, not looking away from his paper. Taken aback, I asked, "Excuse me?" The man put his paper away, revealing a grumpy-looking Caucasian face with brown eyes and light brown hair cut close to his scalp. The man continued, "You heard me, fuck off. I'm sick of Players coming in here pretending to shop for cards, then saying, 'Oh sorry, your cards are too wimpy for me.' It's not funny anymore, so fuck off!" He said his imitation mockingly, then pulled his paper back irritated and ignored me again. Angrily, I pulled it away and yelled at him, "Look, I don't know what you're talking about, but I have had a really bad day. First my mom tries to stop me from being a Player, then I have to take a stupid two-hour exam, then when I finally get done I spawn here a hundred feet in the air and lose all my cards, then get attacked by a Man-Fucking-Eating Treasure Chest, so if you won't sell me any cards, then tell me who will!" I said, venting the frustration of the day to him.

The man looked at me in shock for a second, then sheepishly said, "Sorry about that kid. Name's Horace," He said, extending his hand. I shook it and he continued, "Take a look around. See if there are any cards you like." I nodded and looked around the shelves, when suddenly I saw a card that was very familiar to me. I caught my breath, then asked Horace, "Hey, where did you get this card?" Horace looked at me and said, "I found it in the Card Forest earlier today. Why?" I looked at the card in awe and said, "That's my card." Horace asked, "You mean that's one you want to buy?" I looked at him and said, "No, I mean that's one of the cards I lost. Look, it has my Player Color as the border." I pointed at my Band for emphasis, and he came over and looked at it, then at the card. Sure enough, the border was my Color. Horace looked at me and said, "Oh, well sorry kid, but according to the Dungeon rules, any item that's dropped by a Player is fair game. You can buy it from me, though." I rummaged in my bag and said, "Okay, how much?" He checked the price below the card and said, "Fifteen Coins." I pulled the Coins I had gotten from the Encounter and said sadly, "Oh. I only have six." He put his hand on my shoulder and said, "Sorry kid." And went back to his counter.

"Wait!" I said. I pulled the card I had gotten from the Man-Eating Treasure Chest out of my pocket and showed it to him. "I got this card in the forest. I don't know what it is, but it's got to be worth something, right?" Horace looked at the card, then at me with wide eyes and whispered, "Where did you get that?" I looked at him confused and said, "From a Man-Eating Treasure Chest. Why?" Horace whispered to me in awe, "That's not a monster card, kid. That there's a Resource Card." I asked him, "Resource Card? What's that?" Horace continued explaining, "Resource Cards are special cards that have resources like metals or wood in them." I asked him, "Well, why not just have ore deposits or something?" Horace got a grin on his face and said, "They did. But it was almost impossible to control where they spawn. See, they would have them show up on any dirt surface, but a lot of towns here have dirt roads, and the trees that had good wood would spawn on any wood, so they spawned on houses, and when they put them in certain areas they were swamped with Players, so they put the resources into special cards called Resource Cards. They have a lot of ore or wood in them, and the ore is indicated by the color of the Coins on the picture, and how much is indicated by the color of the border."

He tapped the card I was holding and said, "This card has gold Coins, so it has gold ore. It also has a gold border, so there's a ton of it in there. We call cards that have gold Coins and a gold border Mega Gold Cards. They're worth a ton of Coins." This time it my turn to widen my eyes and I said, "Really?" He smiled at me and said, "Yeah, but only Alchemists can use them, and so they're the only ones you can sell them to." Confused, I asked, "Alchemists?" He explained, "Yeah, they're people who extract the resources from Resource cards. They also sell medicine and raw materials people use for crafting." I nodded and asked, "Are there any Alchemists in this town?" Horace pointed out of his window at the shop with the cauldron logo over the doors and said, "Yeah, his shop is right there. His name is Salazar. Take that card to him and he'll give you a ton of coins, along with some of the ore." I nodded and put the card back in my pocket, then told him, "Okay. I'll be right back." And left the store.

I went into the Alchemist's shop and saw a Caucasian man in a lab coat rummaging through drawers behind a counter in the far side of the shop, facing away from me. To get his attention, I asked him, "Uh, hello?" The man started and turned around to face me. He got a big grin on his face and asked, "Oh hello, how can I help you?" He had white hair, wild like Einstein's, and electric blue eyes. I asked him, "Are you Salazar?" The man grinned wider and said, "Why yes I am, young man, why do you ask?" I asked him, "I heard you buy Resource Cards. Is that true?" Salazar told me, still grinning, "Why yes I do. Do you have one to sell?" I pulled the card out of my pocket, showed it to him and said, "Yes. I was hoping to sell this one, I heard it was called a Mega Gold Card." The man took the card from me in both his hands with an excited look on his face, then looked at me and said, "Well you heard right kid, this is a bona fied Mega Gold Card." A window appeared between us with the words, "Would you like to sell 'Mega Gold Cardx1'?" And yes or no options I selected yes and Salazar grinned widely and said, "Come with me to the back and we can sort out the particulars." I followed him through a door to a storage room, where he went up to a treasure chest, opened it and started counting out Coins into a burlap sack. Once it was almost full, he presented it to me and said, "There you go. Ten thousand Coins." My eyes widened at his words and I said, "Ten thousand? Is that card really worth that much?" Salazar grinned again and said, "You bet. Oh, and you get some of the ore. Hang on." He put the card on the floor and put his hands over it, then a good-sized chunk of gold ore appeared on it. He picked it up and handed it to me, and I staggered a bit under its weight. I asked him, "How am I supposed to carry all of this?" Salazar looked at me oddly and said, "Just put it in your Inventory." I asked him, "I have an Inventory? How do I access it?" He pointed at my neck and said, "Through that necklace you're wearing." I looked down at my neck and sure enough there was a necklace, with a small leather string and a charm in the shape of a miniature treasure chest made of glass, with a hinge on the back. I pulled it off and said, "I didn't even notice that. How do I open it?" Salazar took the necklace from me and told me, "Just open it. Look." He opened the chest and it expanded and turned to wood, becoming about the size of a jewelry box. He handed it to me and I asked, "Are you sure it'll fit?" He told me, "Sure it will. Here, set it on the ground." I did as he said, and he told me, "Now just lower what you want to put into it inside, and even if it's bigger than the chest, it'll go in." I picked up the chunk of ore, and lowered it in. Once it started getting close, it dissolved into white light like monsters do when they're defeated, only it went into the chest instead of me. "Cool." I said, and put the bag Salazar gave me in too, along with the backpack I had gotten and the six Coins I had gotten along with it. "Now just any time you want to take something out, stick your hand in and picture it." I closed the chest, turning it back into a necklace and put it back on. "Thanks Salazar." I said, and saw that he was looking through drawers again and muttering to himself. "I know it's here somewhere, where could it-Aha! Found it!" He said, pulling out a card. He walked up to me and said, "Listen kid, I want you to have this." And handed me the card. On it was a picture of a light green jelly bean with a face and rosy cheeks, with more, different colored jelly beans for hands and feet connected by slim white arms. He had a small sword and shield, and had 1750 ATK and 0 DEF. "Jelly Bean Man." I read off of the card. Salazar nodded vigorously and told me, "Yes, yes. Listen, this card has great power. Hold on to it." I looked at him and said, "Oh no, I-I can't. You've already given me so much." Salazar smiled and said, "Consider this a gift. Besides, something tells me you're going to need it." He pointed at my empty Deck Holster. I put the card inside it and nodded, then said, "Thank you." Salazar put his hand on my shoulder and said, "You're Welcome kid. Take care of yourself."

I thanked Salazar again and went back to the Card Shop. Horace looked up and said, "Hey, you're back. Did you sell the card?" I smiled and said, "Yeah. Did anyone buy that card while I was gone?" Horace smiled dryly and said, "No. Nobody comes in here much." He picked the card off the shelf and I handed him fifteen Coins from my Inventory. I smiled at the card and put it in my Deck Holster. I asked Horace, "Hey, you said no one comes in here much, right? Why is that? Does it have something to do with why you were in such a bad mood when I got here?"

Horace sighed and said, "I'm sorry about that, kid. I've just been a little crabby lately since things haven't been going too well for me." I frowned at his words, and seeing his depressed face I asked, "What do you mean?" He sighed again and explained, "When I first came here, business was good. Players bought my cards and sold me their old ones, which I sold to other Players. But after a while the trends started." Curiously, I asked him, "What trends?" He looked at me sadly and continued, "Card trends. See, new archetypes of cards that you couldn't find in the real world started coming out, and suddenly they were all people wanted. I had no idea what they were until after they came out, though, and by the time I ordered them, a new trend had started. But once, I heard about a new archetype coming out that no one knew about yet, and I ordered five crates of packs before they hit the shelves. Once other stores started selling them, I did too." He put his head in hands and continued, "The only problem is that nobody wanted them. I literally couldn't give them away."

"What archetype?" I asked him. Horace looked at me through his hands, then sighed and said, "You were going to find out eventually. Follow me." He led me through a hallway down into his storage room, only his was in the basement. There were five wooden crates, one open and half-full of packs, each one with the words "Plushy Paradise" under what looked like a stuffed animal styled after a dragon. Horace picked up one of the packs and handed it to me over his shoulder and said, "Here. Once you see the cards, you'll see what I mean." I opened the pack, and there were five effect monsters, each one styled after a different stuffed animal. I scanned them with my Band, and seeing their Effects, I said, "Hey, these are pretty good. Why does no one want to use them?" Horace whirled around and looked at me with a shocked face. "Are you serious kid? They're stuffed animals for Pete's sake. Plus they're really weak." I leafed through the cards as I said, "Well yeah, they may not have a lot of ATK points, but they have great Special Abilities. Besides, why would the fact that they're styled after stuffed animals matter?" Horace got a look of shock on his face, before it switched to a dry acceptance. "Well nobody else likes them. Everybody thinks they're ridiculous, and that they wouldn't be caught dead using them." I smiled as I got an idea and told him, "Horace, I'd like to buy some of these cards from you." Horace looked shocked again and said, "R-Really?" I looked at the cards in my hand and said, "Yeah. These cards seem perfect for me. How much for a pack?" Horace got a huge grin on his face and said, "Tell you what kid, just open the packs and pick out the ones you want." I asked him, "Really, a-are you sure?" He smiled and said, "Yeah, like I said, no-one buys them anyway so there's no harm in opening them." I smiled and thanked him, then I opened packs and put together a good Deck of Plushy cards. Once I was done, we both went back up and I picked some non-Plushy monsters, along with some Spell and Trap cards.

The total came to 1,058 coins, which I gave to him. I put my new cards into my Deck Holster. Then, remembering the card Salazar gave me, I pulled it out and asked him, "Hey, you know a lot about cards right? Salazar said this one had great power. Do you know what he meant?" I showed the card to Horace, who face-palmed. Through his fingers, he said, "Kid, you need to ditch that card right now." "What, why?" I asked him. Horace took his hand off of his face and said, "You know how I said the Plushy cards are ridiculous? Well this card, Jelly Bean Man, is more ridiculous than any of them. He's a giant jelly bean for crying out loud. The only card more ridiculous than Jelly Bean Man is Jelly Bean Woman." "Jelly Bean Woman?" I asked him. Horace pulled open a drawer and withdrew a card from it. He handed it to me. It looked almost exactly like Jelly Bean Man, only it was pink instead of green, and the name read "Jelly Bean Woman", and had 500 more DEF points, although its ATK was the same. Horace looked at the card sadly and said, "I can still remember the day someone got that card."

*Flashback*

Three teenage Players were in Horace's Card Shop getting packs. The first one opened his and said, "Cool, hey Mike, Zach, I got Zombie Dragon, check it out!" The teen showed his card to his friends, who had opened their own packs and were perusing their contents. The second teen, identified as Zach, said, "That's nothing, Harry, I got Kairyu-Shin!" Zach showed his friends his own card. "What did you get, Mike?" The third teen, Mike, looked over his cards and said, "I got-(gasp)-Jelly Bean Woman?!" Mike looked horrified, and his friends looked over the card and started laughing. "Dude, you got Jelly Bean Woman? That's hilarious!" Zach said, and he and Harry started laughing hysterically. Mike held out the card to Horace and, in a panicked voice said, "Here, t-take it back!" Horace looked up from his paper and said, "Huh? Oh, sorry kid, no refunds." And went back to reading. Mike threw all five cards from the pack at him and said, "I don't care. Keep the money! Just take it back!" And ran out. His friends followed him, still laughing. Horace shouted out, "Hey kid! Wait!" But the three boys were long gone, leaving behind the cards. Horace picked them up, then sighed and put the card that had panicked Mike in a drawer, then put the other four on his shelves.

*Flashback End*

I looked at the card in my hand and said, "That's awful. He just threw it?" Horace sighed and said, "Yeah, some cards Players just won't use, no matter what." I smiled and said, "I'd like to buy this one too." Horace looked at me astounded for a moment before smiling dryly again and said, "Well I guess I shouldn't be too surprised, but if you insist on using those cards, you'll need this one too." He said, pulling out another card from his drawer and handing it to me. This one had a young woman floating above the ground with a pink background, holding a pink lollipop with a red spiral as big as she was. She had a childish-looking face with a decent figure and curly bubble-gum pink hair and green eyes, and had a pink dress that went halfway past her thighs, with smaller lollipops stuck onto random places on it. She had pink ballerina shoes with ribbons trailing behind them and pink and white striped stockings, and a gold tiara with a round peppermint candy as the gem. She had 2000 ATK points and 1700 DEF points. "The Lollipop Princess." I read. Horace said, "Yeah, I don't know the whole story, but supposedly they work good together, sort of like the Ojamas." I smiled at Horace and said, "Thanks Horace, how much?"

Horace replied, "These two are on me kid." I looked at him surprised and asked, "Really? Are you sure?" Horace grinned and said, "You bet kid. You've done me a huge favor by helping me get rid of some of those Plushy cards." I thanked him, tucked the cards in my Deck Holster and left the store. As I was walking down the street, I checked the effects of Jelly Bean Man, Jelly Bean Woman, and Lollipop Princess. 'Horace was right,' I thought as I walked, 'These cards do work well together.' As I was walking, someone shouted, "Hey! You!"

Holy crap, this one was long. Alright before I end the story, allow me to explain how the cards look in this story. They don't have descriptions, they look just like they do in the anime, only their names are on the top, and Players can scan them with their Bands to see their Effects. And I'm sorry about the lack of dueling action in this story, but there will be a duel in the next chapter. Until then, read and review!


	5. Plushy Power

Hello everyone this IndigoWerewolf, updating Duel Monsters Virtual once again. Just to warn you now, I will be making the duel in this story like one you might see in the anime, so the characters will be announcing their cards and their effects. Don't worry, I'll post another chapter of Griefer right after this. I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh and let's read!

As I was walking down the road, a voice called out, "Hey! You!" I turned my head towards the source to see a boy about my age with green eyes and black slicked-back hair. He had two others behind him, one who towered over him by at least a head, with brown hair and slate-grey eyes and the other who only came halfway up his chest, who had sandy hair and dull blue eyes. They were all wearing Player Bands, the speaker's being blood red, the big one's neon orange, and the small boy's navy blue. They had the same white clothes as every new Player, only the middle boy had a red fur cape on. The boy who had spoken was sneering at me with his arms crossed, and he called out again, "Yeah you! You're Karo Akaroe, right?" I looked at him confused and said, "Yeah, why?" The boy, still sneering said, "The name's Max Yusai, and I heard you got a 97% on the Entrance Exam." I was surprised at his words, and said while rubbing the back of my head, "Really? I knew I did well but I didn't think I did that well." Max laughed and said, "You don't even know your own score? That's rich." Starting to get irritated, I took my hand off of the back of my head and asked him, "Look, what do you want?" Max's sneer got wider and he said, "What do I want? I want to duel you of course!"

Taken aback, I asked, "What? Why do you want to duel me?" Max pointed at me with a grin and said, "Because I want to see if you're as good as I think you are! So what's it going to be?" I told him, "Sure, I'll duel you, I guess." Max walked over to the middle cul-de-sac, which was empty, and I followed him. He stood on the far side and I stood on the side that opened into the road. Suddenly, he held his arm up with his Band facing me, and it glowed and expanded into a duel disc. The main body looked like a shield, with the arm shaped like a sword. The main color was silver, the main part of the shield being the same, as well as the blade of the sword, with the rim of the shield, the Deck holder, and the hilt of the sword being blood red like his Band. Suddenly, my Band transformed as well, mine had a halo for the main body, with black as the main color, and a black wing as the arm, with purple trim, the halo, and the Deck holder being purple. Both of them displayed 4000 Life Points. We both shuffled our decks and put them in the Deck holders and simultaneously shouted, "Let's Duel!"

*KaibaCorp: Kaiba's Office*

Kaiba was speaking to Noah via video call when Mokuba suddenly burst into his office. "Seto!" He shouted. "Mokuba, what is it? I'm having a discussion with Noah." Kaiba said. Mokuba ignored his brother's rudeness and told him, "There's been a glitch in the Player digitization system. One of our new players spawned one hundred feet in the air in the middle of Card Forest!" Seto smirked, closed his eyes and told his little brother, "I know Mokuba. I put him there." Mokuba was shocked as he said, "What? Why would you do something like that?" Kaiba opened his eyes again and said, "Because I wanted to test his skills. The Player in question is named Karo Akaroe, and he scored a 97% on the Hard difficulty in his exam." Mokuba was even more surprised and asked his brother, "97? Are you sure Seto?" At this point, Noah interrupted the conversation. "Mokuba, I saw his results myself. And I can personally assure you, they're as Seto said." Noah then addressed Kaiba again, "Seto, as I was saying, Karo has lost all of his cards. Apparently his Deck holster came undone in the fall." Mokuba came over to the other side of the desk and asked his step-brother in disbelief, "His whole Deck?" Noah replied to him, "Yes, his whole Deck. However, one card was retrieved by a local Card Shop owner, and he purchased it along with a large amount of other cards." "What kind of cards?" Kaiba asked. Noah typed a few things on his computer, and a list of cards came up one Kaiba's and Mokuba's screens.

"I just sent the list to your computer. I have to say though, they're strange. I honestly can't figure out why he would want any of these cards however, let alone a whole Deck of them." Noah told the two brothers. Mokuba and Kaiba looked over the list and after a moment, Mokuba said, "Hey you're right. These cards are pretty weak, why would he make a whole Deck out of them?" Kaiba closed his eyes and said, "So my suspicions were right." The two youngest Kaiba boys looked at their elder brother and Noah asked, "What suspicions?" Kaiba opened his eyes again and told the both of them, "This kid's an Effect Duelist. I thought he might be from his Exam Duel footage, but this confirms it." Mokuba got a confused look on his face and asked Kaiba, "What's an Effect Duelist?" Kaiba turned towards his brother and said, "An Effect Duelist is someone who stacks their Deck with Effect Monsters. He however, takes it one step further. Most Effect Duelists use a lot of Effect Monsters, but ATK is still their highest priority. For him, it's the opposite. He uses almost exclusively Effect Monsters, and many of them have low ATK. Most of his Normal Monsters also have low ATK points." Mokuba asked his brother, "But how can someone get a 97% on Hard with only weak monsters?" Kaiba was looking over the list of Karo's purchases as he said, "I already told you Mokuba. He uses their Special Abilities. And these monsters fit his Dueling style perfectly."

Before Kaiba could explain any further, Noah interrupted him, saying urgently, "Seto, Karo Akaroe's Band just activated. He's just started a Duel!" Kaiba was suddenly all business as he said, "Get me a live feed of that Duel. Now!" Noah typed some more, and a video of the Duel came up. Kaiba typed on his computer, and a screen descended on the other side of his office. He transferred the feed to that screen and closed all of the window blinds from his computer. He laced his fingers together and put his elbows on his desk with his head resting on his hands. Mokuba pulled up a chair and sat down to watch the Duel with his brother. "This should be interesting." Kaiba muttered.

*Back at the Duel*

We both drew five cards, and Max said, "Since I'm such a nice guy, I'll let you go first." I said, "All right then." And drew another card. In my hand I had Plushy Soldier, Monster Egg, Mirror Force, Plushy Angel, Plushy Demon, and Graceful Charity. I slid Graceful Charity into the first Spell Card slot in my duel disc and said, "I active Graceful Charity, which lets me draw three more cards as long as I discard two cards to the Graveyard." The card came up on the field and I drew three cards, then discarded two of them to the Graveyard. The card I had kept was Plushy Witch. I placed Plushy Soldier in the middle Monster space on my duel disc and said, "Now I summon Plushy Soldier in Attack Mode!" And Plushy Soldier appeared on the field, floating in the air just low enough to not obstruct my vision. He was a two-foot tall white stuffed animal with a disproportionate head and a humanoid shape, with no clothing or discernable markings except a small sword and no fingers or toes, with two buttons for eyes and a small, sewn-on smile. Holographic numbers appeared over its head, showing an ATK of 800 and a DEF of 600. Suddenly, Max and his cronies burst into laughter. "I think I've missed the joke." I said calmly. Max wiped a tear from his eye and asked me, "You really use those stupid Plushy monsters?" I told him, "As of right now I do. I lost all but one of my cards in the forest, and I got all of these ones just now." Max chuckled and said, "Don't you know those are the worst monsters in the game? I wouldn't use those cards if you paid me. Whoever conned you into buying them really ripped you off." I smiled and let out a chuckle of my own. Max got a bewildered look on his face and asked, "What's so funny?" I looked him straight in the eye and said, "Oh nothing, it's just you seem to think I was tricked into buying these cards." Max smirked and said, "Well that's the only reason anyone would buy one. Next time you luck out on a monster drop, don't blow it all on weak-ass cards."

I smirked right back at him and told him, "Actually it's the opposite. Horace told me exactly how little everyone thinks of them. But I bought them anyway." I held my disc up so that my Deck was facing him and told him determined, "My Deck has got a ton of Plushy monsters in it, and each and every one is ready to give you the beat-down of a lifetime." Max and his cronies roared with laughter again and he said, "Oh man. You're a riot. All right, if you're done with your little speech, end your turn already so I can destroy you!" I put one card face-down on the field and said, "I place one card face-down and end my turn. You're up." Max got an evil grin on his face and said, "If you insist." He drew a card, then summoned a monster. "I play Kojikocy in attack mode! Then I'll place one card face-down. But before I end my turn, I've got a proposition for you." Cautiously I asked him, "What kind of proposition?" Max, still wearing an evil smile said, "Since you have so much faith in your little toys, how about we make the duel a little interesting." "Interesting how?" I asked him. Max chuckled evilly and said, "We each put up one of our monsters and one thousand coins. Winner takes all." I told him, "Thanks but no thanks. Now end your turn so we can get on with the duel."

Max's grin grew wider and he said, "All right then, I guess I'll just report you." "Report me? What are you talking about?" I asked, and Max said, "Oh, you didn't know? If someone's opponent makes an illegal move in a duel, then they can report them." Confused, I asked, "What are you talking about? I haven't done anything illegal." Max's grin grew wider and he said, "It doesn't matter. The report still goes on your record. And everyone will see it. The people in the Player Union, the Shopkeepers, and anyone else you meet. And once they see that someone has reported you for illegal dueling, every single one of them will treat you lower than dirt. Of course you could just bet one of your cards, along with the thousand Coins of course." My eyes widened, and I shouted in realization, "This was your plan all along wasn't it! To get me to duel you and then threaten me into betting one of my cards!" Max chuckled and said, "Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. But I don't really think that matters right now, does it?" His finger hovered a red button on the underside of his duel disc.

I growled and said, "Fine. I'll do it." Max took his finger away from the button and said, "That's better. Now pick out a card and cough up a thousand Coins. James will hold them until I win." He pointed towards his shorter lackey, who was standing in the far left side of the cul-de-sac we were Dueling in. "And make sure it's not one of those weak-ass Plushys!" Max shouted at me, as I looked through my Deck. I pulled out a monster and showed it to him, and said, "I'll bet my Shining Friendship." Then pulled out a thousand coins in a pouch from my Inventory, then threw both to Max's flunky. Max pulled a similar pouch out of his Inventory and tossed it to James, then made a big show of looking through his cards, humming and saying to himself, "Now, what's a useless monster I can bet?" He pulled out a card and said, "Ah, this one's good. I'll bet my Gemini Elf." Then threw the card to his lackey. We both reshuffled our Decks and replaced them in our duel discs. Max gave me a cocky grin and said, "I'll end my turn. Draw your card." "About time." I muttered, and drew. The card I drew was Different Dimension Capsule.

I smiled and said, "I activate Different Dimension Capsule!" And slid the card into the second Spell slot. The card appeared on the screen and I said, "Now I can take one card out of play for two of my turns. Then once those two turns are up, I can take that card and put it directly into my hand. And I know exactly what card I want." I took my Deck out and selected the card I wanted, then shuffled and replaced it. I then put the card I had picked into the out of play slot opposite the Deck holder. Then I placed Plushy Demon into the Monster space to the right of Plushy Soldier and said, "And now I'll summon my Plushy Demon in attack mode!" Plushy Demon appeared on the field, floating at the same height as Plushy Soldier. It was also the same size as Plushy Soldier, but it was purple, and had its hands stitched to look like balled fists, which were held up in a fighting position. It also had a slim tail that ended in a spade shape, with devil horns and a cartoonish smirk showing off pointed teeth, and plastic eyes instead of just buttons. It let out a mischievous giggle and went still. The numbers appearing over its head showed its ATK as 1000 and its DEF was 800. "And now I'll end my turn." Max laughed again and said, "Are you dense? My Kojikocy has 1500 ATK. Those wimps can't even hold a candle to it. Or to my Battle Ox!" He summoned a Battle Ox monster to the field, and then held up a Spell card. "And now I'll play Sogen!" He shouted, as the tip of his sword slid forward to reveal the Field spell slot. He put the card in and closed it, and grass suddenly grew in the cul-de-sac. "Now all Warrior and Beast-Warrior types gain 200 ATK and DEF points." He said, and then Kojicocy's ATK went up to 1700, and his Battle Ox's ATK went up to 1900. "Now," He yelled, "Kojikocy! Destroy his Plushy Soldier!" As the swordsman rushed towards Plushy Soldier, I said, "Reveal my face-down card. Mirror Force!" My card flipped up so that the front was visible, and a shimmering wall appeared between Kojikocy and Plushy Soldier.

"What!?" Max shouted, and I smirked and explained, "Not only does Mirror Force stop your attack, but it sends it right back at your monsters, and destroys every monster on your side of the field that's in attack mode!" Both of his monsters burst into shards that disappeared, and Max growled with an ugly look on his face, then said, "I end my turn." I drew a card, and saw that it was Plushy Zombie. I decided to save it for later and said, "I summon Plushy Angel to the field in attack mode!" I put it to the left of Plushy Soldier, and Plushy Angel appeared floating at the same height as the other two. It was similar to Plushy Soldier, only it was dressed up like an angel with a toga and halo, and its hands were sown together. It had the same ATK and DEF as Plushy Demon. "And just what is that monster supposed to do?" Max asked, still pissed. "Well I'll tell you Max," I said, "See, if Plushy Angel and Plushy Demon are on the field at the same time, Plushy Demon's Special Ability activates, and it lets me summon one monster from my Deck directly to the field, as long as it's a Plushy."

I took my Deck out, selected my card and reshuffled and replaced my Deck. Then I put the monster on the far right of my side of the field and shouted, "Now I summon Plushy Dragon in attack mode!" Plushy Dragon appeared on the field. It stood on the ground unlike the others, and was red-orange with a white chin and underbelly with white running down its neck connecting them. It was bigger than me, and had stubby arms, a long thin neck, an angular head with two horns at the top, with the space in between them curved to form a U. It had two big wings and stumpy legs, and had yellow plastic eyes with slitted pupils, and its mouth was open to reveal its fabric fangs. The numbers above its head read ATK 1500 DEF 1600. I continued with my explanation, stating, "Unfortunately I can't attack with Plushy Angel or Plushy Demon on the turn this ability is activated, or with the monster I summoned, so I'll end my turn."

Max drew a card and smirked, then put it on the middle Monster space on his disc and shouted out, "I summon Kanan the Swordmistress in attack mode!" The monster appeared on the field, and he shouted, "Now I equip her with the Legendary Sword, which raises her ATK by 500!" His monsters ATK went up to 2100, and he pointed at my Plushy Angela and said, "Now Kanan, his Plushy Angel is pissing me off! Destroy it!" His monster cut my Plushy Angel in half, and it was destroyed. My Life Point read-out dropped down to 2900. Max chuckled and said, "I'll end my turn now. Your go." I drew a card, and it was Pot of Greed. I slid the Spell card into my duel disc and shouted, "I activate Pot of Greed, which lets me draw two more cards." I drew the cards and put Pot of Greed into the Graveyard. The cards I drew were Forest and Beast Fang. I smirked, and said, "And my Different Dimension Capsule's timer is up, which means I get the card I put out of play earlier." I took the card out, and placed it into my duel disc. The card materialized on the field and flipped up to reveal a Spell card with a picture of a little lion costume with no face on it. "This card is called Plushy Costume Lion. It can only be equipped to Plushy Soldier, and it not only changes its Type to Beast, but gives him an extra 600 ATK points!" Plushy Soldier's sword disappeared, and with a puff of smoke and a squeaking sound, it was wearing the lion costume. Its ATK went up to 1600. "So what? It still can't destroy my Swordmistress." Max told me. I smirked and said, "I'm not done. I activate the field spell Forest, and since Plushy Soldier is now the Beast Type, he gains 200 ATK!" The top of the wing on my duel disc slid open, and I put the card in. The grass burst into shards and more grew, along with trees, bushes, and other plants. My Plushy Soldier's ATK went up to 1800, and his Kanan's went down to 1900. Max looked irritated as he said, "It's still weaker." I held up my Beast Fang card and said confidently, "Not for long." Max got a panicked look on his face and I said, "I play Beast Fang, to give my Plushy Soldier an extra 300 ATK points!" I slid the card into my duel disc and the fangs appeared on Plushy Soldier, raising its ATK to 2100. I extended my hand towards his Swordmistress and shouted, "Now Plushy Soldier, destroy Kanan the Swordmistress with Plushy Paw Pummel!"

My Plushy Soldier smacked its paw into Kanan and it burst into pieces, lowering his Life Points to 3800. "Now, Plushy Dragon, attack his Life Points directly with Yarn Fireball!" A large lump rose up in Plushy Dragon's neck, and it moved forward until he spat a large ball of yellow, orange and red yarn at him. It connected and yarn went everywhere, dematerializing once the attack was over. His Life Points went down to 2300, and I then attacked with my Plushy Demon, and they went down to 1300. I then said, "I end my turn." Max drew a card and shouted, "I activate Card of Sanctity, so now we both draw until we have five cards." I drew four cards and he drew two, but before I could see what they were, he said, "Hm, I don't quite like these cards. I activate Card Destruction. Now we both throw out our hands and draw a whole new one." I put my cards in the Graveyard and drew five more.

The cards I had drawn were Cheerful Coffin, Jelly Bean Man, Jelly Bean Woman, The Shallow Grave, and Silent Fiend. "I'll place one card face-down on the field," He said, "Now I activate The Warrior Returning Alive, to bring my Kojikocy back from the Grave! And that's not all. I play Lycanthropy!" A Spell card with a picture of a half-transformed werewolf appeared on his side of the field. I scrunched my face up in confusion and said, "Lycanthropy? I've never heard of that card." Max chuckled and said, "It's a very special Spell card. It lets me sacrifice one Warrior Type monster so that I can special summon one Beast-Warrior Monster. And I choose Sengenjin!" Kojikocy disappeared and the Sengenjin took its place. "Holy shit." I muttered. "Holy shit is right, pal. My Sengenjin has 2850 ATK points, plus the 200 from your Forest, for a total of 3050, and they're all aimed directly at you! Fortunately for you, he can't use them this turn, but next turn you'll be toast! But before that, I think I'll play Razing the Field. It destroys every monster on your side of the field!"

Plushy Dragon, Plushy Soldier, and Plushy Demon were all destroyed, and I looked at my empty field in disbelief. "Now I'll place one card face down and end my turn." Max said, with a shit-eating grin. I looked at my Deck trembling, thinking to myself, 'I need to draw the right card now. If I can't do anything now, I can kiss this duel goodbye.' I drew my card with my eyes squeezed tight, and slowly opened them. When I saw what card it was, my eyes flew open, and I smirked. I put the card down on my middle monster space and said, "I summon Princess of Yuki in attack mode!" My monster appeared on the field. She was a stern-looking woman a fairly good figure, with white hair in a long slim ponytail that went down to her rear, and a powder-blue kimono that exposed her legs, with dark blue trim and white snowflakes on it. She had pale skin and blue lipstick, with icy-blue eyes, a tiara made of ice and a silver staff with a blue orb on top. She floated in the air with her right leg lifted higher than the left. Her ATK was 1700 and DEF was 1500. Max roared with laughter and said, "What's that thing going to do?" I said to him, "It's going to freeze your Sengenjin solid! Princess of Yuki, use your special ability to immobilize his monster!" With that, my Princess of Yuki held up her staff, which glowed brightly. Then she thrust it towards his Sengenjin, who put his hands out in front of him, and it froze in a giant block of ice. "What the fuck?! What the fuck did you just do?" Max yelled, and I explained to him, "My Princess of Yuki's special ability lets me immobilize one monster on the field, preventing it from attacking, changing its battle position, or being sacrificed. The best part is that if there are no other monsters on your side of the field, I can bypass it and attack your Life Points directly!" Max got a horrified look on his face and I said, "Princess of Yuki, attack his Life Points directly!" My Princess of Yuki flew towards Max, but before she could finish her attack, he shouted out, "I activate Negate Attack!" His face-down card flipped up to reveal the trap. Princess of Yuki returned to her original position, and I reluctantly said, "I end my turn."

Max drew a new card and smirked when he looked at it. "I activate Fissure, which destroys the monster with the lowest attack on your side of the field." Princess of Yuki was destroyed, and I growled in anger. When Sengenjin wasn't freed, he said, "Hey, what gives? Your dumb monster was destroyed, why isn't the ice going away?" I smirked at him and said, "Because Princess of Yuki's special ability lasts even after she's sent to the Graveyard." Max grinned cockily and said, "No matter. I'll just activate Effect Jammer." A spell card with the silhouette of a Penguin Soldier being electrocuted came up, and the ice surrounding Sengenjin shattered, and he roared. "Effect Jammer removes the effect of one of your Effect Monsters," Max said, "But it also prevents that monster from attacking this turn, so I guess it's your turn." I drew a card and looked at it. It was Plushy Castle! I got a big grin on my face as I said, "You are so fucked." Max chuckled and said, "Yeah, and why's that?"

I showed him the card and told him, "Because of this card." Max got a confused look on his face and asked, "What card is that?" I slid it into the field spell slot and said, "I'll show you." Suddenly, a big pink stuffed castle rose out of the ground behind me, with purple roofs. Max looked at the field and asked, "Hey, why isn't your Forest disappearing?" I smirked and said, "Because Plushy Castle is a very special Field Spell. It doesn't destroy other Field Spell cards. Behold, as Forest Becomes Plushy Forest!" As soon as I was finished, the Forest started to turn to Plushy. The grass turned to carpet, and all of the plants became stuffed versions. "Now only Plushy monsters can receive the benefits from my Forest card, and the boost they get is doubled." Sengenjin's ATK dropped to 2850, and Max smirked and said, "So what? You don't even have any monsters on the field."

"Not for long. I summon Jelly Bean Man in attack mode!" I placed Jelly Bean Man on the monster space second to the right, and he was summoned to the field. Max burst out laughing, and doubled over clutching his sides. "What's so funny?" I asked him. Max got up and said, "Your card. I honestly thought your Deck couldn't get any more ridiculous, but you went and proved me wrong." I grinned and told him, "You won't be laughing when you see what I've got up my sleeve. I activate Cheerful Coffin, which lets me discard three monsters from my hand to my Graveyard. But since I only have one, that's how many I'll throw out." I put the card I had chosen in my Graveyard. "So you're so eager to lose you're sending your monsters to the Graveyard for me? How nice of you." Max said cockily.

I held up another card facing away from him and said, "My monster won't be staying in the Graveyard for long. I play The Shallow Grave!" I turned the card around and put it in my duel disc. "And I use it to bring Jelly Bean Woman back from the Graveyard!" I summoned her to the field in the second space from the left, and Max and his goons all fell to the ground laughing. "You know, this duel would go a lot faster if you wouldn't burst out laughing every time I summon a monster." I said. Max waved his hand at me, rising shakily to his feet, and said, "Sorry, sorry, go on." "I will. I activate Jelly Bean Woman's special ability!" I shouted. "What special ability?" Max asked, still smiling goofily. "Her special ability lets me summon a specific monster from my Deck once she's on the field at the same time as Jelly Bean Man. Come forth, Lollipop Princess!" I shouted, and my Lollipop Princess appeared floating in the air with her knees bent so that her knees were facing downwards.

Max roared with laughter again, and I said, "Will you stop laughing already!" Angrily. Max held up a finger to tell me to wait, then wheezed, "Sorry, sorry, it's just that it's so hard to take you seriously when you play monsters like that." Angrily, I said, "Well you won't be laughing when I'm through. I play the Spell card Silent Fiend, to bring back another monster from my Graveyard. And I choose one I put in there when you used your Card Destruction spell. Plushy Kitsune!" A large stuffed animal in the shape of a red fox with nine tails appeared on the field, crouching in a defensive position. It had 1500 ATK and 1200 DEF, and its ATK went up to 1900 thanks to Plushy Castle. "Yeah, so what? It can't attack since you summoned it with Silent Fiend." Max said, grinning. "I'm not done yet," I barked at him, "Thanks to Plushy Castle, I can special summon one Plushy monster from my Deck." I pulled out my Deck and selected the card I wanted, then reshuffled and replaced my Deck. "I summon Plushy Fly Trap in attack mode!" I exclaimed. A stuffed plant appeared. It had a thin stem and stood on a wide base with four short tendrils. It also had a head shaped like a Piranha Plant, except for the fact that it was green instead of red and had no spots. Its ATK was 1800 and its DEF was 1600.

"That monster doesn't have enough ATK either, what are you trying to pull?" Max asked, getting angry. I smiled seeing his frustration, and said, "Oh nothing, I'm just getting ready to activate Jelly Bean Man's special ability. See, when Lollipop Princess is on the field, Jelly Bean Man and Jelly Bean Woman can each turn one monster on my side of the field into a rock candy statue. Go Jelly Bean Man, Jelly Bean Woman! Turn Plushy Kitsune and Plushy Fly Trap to candy!" I shouted, and Jelly Bean Man went to hover over Plushy Kitsune, and his sword started to glow, and Jelly Bean Woman did the same with Plushy Fly Trap. There were two twin flashes of light, and when it died down, Plushy Kitsune and Plushy Fly Trap had both been transformed into statue versions of themselves made out of rock candy. Max smirked and said, "So what? All you did was make a couple of useless monsters even more useless." I smirked again and said, "Not so. You see, Lollipop Princess has quite the sweet tooth. Once Jelly Bean Man or Jelly Bean Woman turn one of my monsters to candy, she can chow down on them, and their ATK points are added to hers!" Max looked horrified, and said, "What?" I raised my hand into the air with fingers apart and said, "Lollipop Princess, bon appetit!" Lollipop Princess licked her lips and picked up Plushy Kitsune. She sunk her teeth into it and in a matter of moments, it was gone. Then she did the same with Plushy Fly Trap.

A pink aura surrounded Lollipop Princess, and her ATK went up to 5300. I grinned confidently and shouted, "Now Lollipop Princess! Destroy his Sengenjin! Sugar Rush Strike!" Lollipop Princess jumped up and whirled her giant lollipop around before smashing Sengenjin with the flat part. It shattered into pieces, and Max's Life Points dropped down to 0. He collapsed to his knees with a shocked look on his face, and our monsters faded and I took my cards out of my duel disc, at which point it reverted back to my Band. I got a big grin on my face and said, "And that's the Duel."

Goddamn this was long. I don't own Mario see you next time.


	6. A Hot Tip

Hello everyone this is IndigoWerewolf with another chapter of Duel Monsters Virtual. In the last chapter, Karo kicked Max's butt and now we're going to see the next events, which I hope you'll like, and I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh, so let's read!

Max fell to his knees with a shocked look on his face as both of our Duel Discs retreated into our Bands. Calmly, I walked over to his cronies, who were standing with dropped jaws. I walked up to the short one and held out my hand and politely said to him, "I'd like my card back please." He visibly snapped out of it and said, "Oh yeah," He rummaged around in his pockets and continued once he had retrieved both of the cards bet on the duel, "Here's your card, and the one Max bet. The Coins too." He handed me the cards and Coins, and I put them in my Deck Holster and Inventory respectively, and no sooner than I had then three identical dark-haired men in dark suits and sunglasses appeared around us. Two of them grabbed one of Max's arms each and hoisted him to his feet. He snapped out of his shock and struggled to get away, cursing the whole time. The third walked up to me and asked me, "Are you Karo Akaroe?" Surprised I told him, "Yes. What's going on?" He said to me simply, "We're officers of the Player Security Agency. We received information that an illegal wager was made on this duel, and we came to arrest the perpetrator." Confused, I asked him, "But I thought betting on duels was legal?" He replied to me, "Under normal circumstances, it is. But when one Player forces another to wager by threatening to make a false report, it's not. This is Mr. Yusai's third offence, and if you choose to press charges against him, he'll be going to prison for quite a while."

At the man's words, Max paled and stuttered, "P-p-prison?" He turned to me and said, "Hey Karo, y-you're not going to send me to jail are you? We were just having fun, I-I wasn't really going to-". "Save your breath Max." I interrupted him and then turned to the PSA agent that had spoken to me and told him, "I'm not pressing charges." "You're not?" Max and his two lackeys said in unison. I smiled and continued, "I think losing this duel has been punishment enough." The man nodded, and his friends released Max. Then, as soon as they had appeared, they were gone. I looked to Max, who had fallen to his hands and knees in shock, my reminder that he had lost sending him back into his state before his scare. "That was really nice of you." I heard a deep, slow voice behind me, and I turned around to see that the larger of Max's two henchmen was standing there smiling at me. I rubbed the back of my head and said, "Well, it's not like there was any real harm done. Besides, he may be a dick but I don't think he deserves to go to jail." He smiled and said, "I'm Jacob, and this is James," He gestured to his smaller friend, who smiled. "Nice to meet you two. Hey if you don't mind me asking, why do you two hang around with Max?" I asked him. He told me, "We know that Max can be a jerk sometimes, but he's a good person deep down." James interjected, "Really deep down." Jacob nodded and continued, "We follow him so that maybe we can help him be better, and make it so that the good part of Max isn't so far deep."

"Jacob! James! Stop yapping and let's go!" Max's voice sounded behind us. He motioned for the two of them to follow him, and Jacob told me, "Take care of yourself Karo." Jacob said, and they went to follow Max. Before any of them could leave however, a female voice sounded out behind me, "Now just hold on one second Max!" I turned to see Rhea marching towards us, looking upset. "Rhea? What are you doing here?" I asked. She smiled and said, "I was heading towards the weapon shop and I saw your duel. Nice going by the way." "Thanks." I replied, then she turned back to Max and said to him sternly, "Karo just saved your hide, now say thank you!" I briefly saw an irritated look ghost over Max's face, but then he smiled, clasped his hands together and, with overstated niceness, said, "Oh, I'm sorry. Where are my manners? Thank you so much Karo, for not turning me in. I promise it'll never happen again." "Well that's good-" I started to say, but he cut me off, saying, "In fact, I'm so thankful that I want to give you a hot tip on a Request." Confused, I asked, "What's a Request?" Rhea told me, "In the virtual world, there are two types of jobs. Quests, that come from the Player Union, and Requests, that come from other Players or ordinary citizens." Max nodded and pulled me aside from the others, then whispered in my ear, "Go to the inn in the Resident's part of town, then look around the restaurant part for a guy in a gray suit. Ask him if he needs help, and he'll tell you about his problem. And once you solve it for him, he'll give you a really great card." I told him, "Max, I don't know if you've figured this out by now, but your idea of a great card and mine are very different." Max grinned some more and said, "You'll like this card, trust me. Now go on, and remember, gray suit." With that, he, Jacob, and James walked off into the blue panel on the middle of the square and disappeared. Rhea walked up to me and said, "You're not really going to take it are you?"

I said to her, "Yeah. Why wouldn't I?" We started walking towards the Residential District, and she went on, saying, "This Request is probably bogus, and you'll just end up wasting your time walking through the forest for a flower or something, and get three measly Coins for your trouble." "Well even if the reward is crappy, this guy still needs help, and I want to help him if I can." I told her. Rhea sighed and said, "Don't get me wrong Karo, I think that's really sweet, but doing stuff for the Residents can get really annoying really fast. Trust me, I've done plenty of it." There was no time for more conversation as we had reached the inn, and before I went I asked her, "Do you want to come do the Request with me?" Rhea waved her hand and said, "No thanks. I've done enough running around getting Resources for a while. I'll show you around later okay? See you." With that, she left, and I walked into the inn.

I went into the restaurant area of the inn and looked around. Sure enough, there was a man in a gray cotton suit, with shirt black hair with a part in the middle. He was eating a steak with a bored expression, and I walked up to him and asked him, "Uh, excuse me, but do you need help?" He looked up at me and asked, "Are you here about the request?" With a bored tone, then went back to his food. I replied, "Yes." The man looked back up at me in surprise and asked, "R-really?" I replied, "Yes." He stood up hastily and said, "Oh, w-well in that case I have a very bad situation that I need your help with." "What's the problem?" I asked him. He pulled back his sleeve to reveal a Player band that matched his suit and said, "My name is Harold Pye, I-I'm a Player see, and a few days ago I was walking through the Card Forest and someone jumped me and stole my best card." Surprised, I asked, "They stole your card?" He said to me, with a remorseful expression, "I don't know who it was. I just know that it was a really tall lady with a white dress. I asked around and found out her name's Aona. She hangs out in some old ruins deep in the forest." I nodded and asked him, "What card did she steal?" "It's called the Amazoness Tribemistress. It was a gift from my mother, you have to get it back for me, please!" He pleaded, and a window popped up between us, with a description of the Request and an option to accept or decline. I selected accept, and the window disappeared and Harold shook my hand, thanking me profusely.

I left the Inn and headed towards Card Forest. I walked through the woods, defeating random monsters as I went, managing to level up again after a while. This time I picked a Combat Ability, Shadow Dart. It was a small projectile of dark energy that could be fired from the tip of the finger. I also flapped my wings, jumping in and out of trees to get my Flight skill up. About halfway to my destination, according to my map, my wings had grown. When I had first gotten them, they were each about the size of my hand, but now they had almost doubled in size. I stopped once my wings started to get tired, and kept walking. Once I watched the ruins, I called out, "Aona! I know you're in there! Come on out!" A woman walked out of the ruins slowly. She was tall as Harold had said, about a head and a half taller than me. She had brown hair done up in a bun on the back of her head, with two braided loops over her ears, and had regal features, with bright green eyes and pointed ears. She was wearing a sleeveless white V-neck dress that showed off an ample chest, and had sandals with numerous thin straps. She also had a Player band in a soft pink color. She glared at me and said in an authoritative voice with a regal tone, "Why have you come here, male?" I stood my ground and said to her, "I've come for the card you stole, The Amazoness Tribemistress!" Aona closed her eyes, then crossed her arms and said, "I see. You desire my card, so you are attempting to obtain it from me by accusing me of theft. Begone, male. I have no patience for your games." As she walked away, I said to her, "I'm not leaving without that card."

She turned back at me and studied me for a moment. Then she got a smug smile on her face and said, "If you desire my card so badly, then duel me for it. If you win, I will give you the card you seek." Aona then set her face determinedly and threw out her hand towards me and shout out, "But if you lose I will purge the Darkness from your form!" Her Duel Disc materialized, the same type as Max's, except with pink as the trim, and I materialized my own Duel Disc and said, "If I lose you can do whatever the hell you want with my form, because I'm not about to lose to a thief!" In unison, we both said, "Let's Duel!"

Okay, that's that chapter. Sorry that it's so short, but I didn't want this chapter to be too long because of the duel, so it's going to be next chapter. See you next time!


	7. Amazon Fury

Hello everyone this is IndigoWerewolf with another chapter of Duel Monsters Virtual. Last time we left off, Aona and Karo were about to Duel, which they will do this chapter. I will go a bit beyond the Duel this chapter, but not very far. I'm not going to give anything away, but prepare to be surprised. Oh and before I forget, the Plushy monster are not based off of the Fluffal monsters from the Arc-V anime, and I have not seen any of that series, and am in fact still working on the first anime, Yu-Gi-Oh Duel Monsters. I also would like to explain how most of them work. As you have no doubt seen, they are mostly low ATK Effect monsters that would be a little tricky to use if they were real. They are mostly Light Attribute Fairy types, and I am sorry for not pointing that out, I will do so from now on. Also, in my mind, I always imagine them as homemade-looking stuffed animals. With all of that said, let's read. I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh.

We both drew five cards from our Decks, and Aona said, "Since you were so rude to me earlier, I believe I deserve to go first." She drew another card, then put one on her disc and exclaimed, "I summon Amazoness Swordswoman in Attack Mode." Her monster appeared on the field with 1500 ATK and 1600 DEF, and she placed a card face-down and said, "I place one card on the field face-down and end my turn. Your move, male." I drew a card from my deck and said to her, "I have a name, you know." I looked at the cards in my hand, and saw they were Pink Plushy Rabbit, Michizure, Plushy Pillow, Plushy Knight, Silent Fiend, and Plushy Bear. 'Not bad. I'll have to stall a little, though.' I thought, then placed Pink Plushy Rabbit in the center space, then shouted, "I summon Pink Plushy Rabbit in Attack Mode." My monster appeared. It was the same size as Plushy Soldier, but it had two big rabbit ears on the top of its head, a rabbit nose and buck teeth, short whiskers, two small wings on its back, and it was hot pink, with a cream underbelly. It was a Light Fairy with 600 ATK and 500 DEF. Aona got an aggravated look on her face and shouted, "How dare you insult me with such a weak monster!" I smirked at her and said, "My Rabbit may be weak, but he's got a nasty trick up his sleeve. I set one card face-down and end my turn." I placed a face-down card in the center space, and Aona drew another card.

"I sacrifice Amazoness Swordswoman to summon Amazoness Berserker in Attack mode." She said, and her monster disappeared, to be replaced with a larger version with a pissed look on its face and no sword. I saw that it had 2000 ATK and 1400 DEF. She pointed at my monster and shouted, "Now, Amazoness Berserker, destroy the pathetic male's pathetic monster!" As her Berserker charged towards my Plushy Rabbit, I exclaimed, "Now, Pink Plushy Rabbit, switch into Defense Mode!" My monster covered its eyes with its paws, and Amazoness Berserker smashed its fist down onto my monster, which shattered into pieces of cloth, string, and two buttons. When my life Points didn't go down, Aona looked shocked and said, "Why are your Life Points still intact?" I smiled cockily and told her, "I told you my monster had a trick up its sleeve. Pink Plushy Rabbit's Special Ability lets me switch it into Defense Mode immediately before an attack. But that's not all. Reveal face down card, Michizure!" My trap flipped up, and I said to her, "Now since you destroyed one of my monsters, I get to destroy one of yours, so goodbye Amazoness Berserker." Her monster shattered into pieces, and Aona growled. "And since you have no more monsters left, I believe it's my turn." I said, and Aona said, "I end my turn. Go, male." Before I drew my card, I asked her, "Why do you keep calling me 'Male'? Like I said, I do have a name." Aona crossed her arms and said, "Because that is what you are. A pathetic, vile male." I drew and said, "Okay, well that's flattering." Sarcastically. I looked at the card I had drawn, and it was Heart of Clear Water. 'Perfect!' I thought, and placed a monster in the middle space, and said, "I summon Plushy Pillow in Defense Mode." A medium-sized pillow appeared on the field. It had a small sewn-on blush on its cheeks, a little smile, and closed eyes. It too was a Light Fairy, with 200 ATK and 2200 DEF.

Aona growled once more and told me, "I grow weary of these weakling monsters of yours, male." I inserted the card I had just drawn into the center space and said, "You won't think it's weak when it's equipped with the Heart of Clear Water." My card appeared on the field, and my Pillow glowed with a light blue aura. "I'm not familiar with it." Aona said calmly, and I said to her, "Then here's how it works. If the monster equipped with Heart of Clear Water has less than 1300 ATK, it can't be destroyed in battle, or with your monster's effects, or with your Spell or Trap cards. It basically makes it invincible, so get used to seeing him on the field, because Plushy Pillow is here to stay." Aona growled again, and I told her, "That'll do for now. I end my turn." Aona drew a card and placed a monster card on her Duel Disc, and said, "I summon Amazoness Trainee in Attack Mode, then I end my turn." Her monster appeared with 1500 ATK and 1300 DEF, and I said, "No insults? That's a first." Aona growled and said, "Just go, male!" I drew and saw that the card I had gotten was Big Plushy Bear. I smiled and said, "I summon Plushy Bear in Attack mode." My monster appeared to the left of Plushy Pillow. It looked like a typical teddy bear and was a little smaller than Plushy Soldier. It was a Light Beast with 300 ATK and 400 DEF. Aona had an annoyed look on her face as she said, "And you accuse me of being quick to insults. That puny thing barely has any ATK points." I smiled and said, "You are. And Plushy Bear may be small, but he has a big friend, and thanks to his Special Ability, I can Special Summon that friend directly from my hand to the field. So come on out, Big Plushy Bear!" I shouted the last three words, and my second monster appeared. It looked identical to the original Plushy Bear, but it was huge, almost twice my size. It was also a Light Beast, and it had 1400 ATK and 1100 DEF.

"That's all for now. I end my turn." I said, and Aona drew a card, then snarled at me and said, "You are a fool. That beast cannot stand up to my Amazoness Trainee. Now, attack his tiny Plushy Bear!" Amazoness Trainee swung her chain at my Plushy Bear, but my Plushy Pillow intercepted it, and Aona lost 700 Life Points, bringing her down to 3300. Aona stepped back in surprise and said, "What is this? Why did my Amazoness not annihilate your monster?" I smirked and said to her, "Oh, did I forget to mention? Plushy Pillow's Special Ability prevents you from attacking any Plushy monster besides him as long as he's on the field." Aona growled and said, "That was a dirty trick, male. But then again, I suppose I should've expected it, everything considered." I let out a growl of my own and shouted, "Okay, what the heck is your problem? What do you have against guys?" Aona had a melancholy look on her face as she said, "I have a great deal against men. Far more than you could ever imagine." Confused, I asked, "What do you mean?" Aona lowered her eyes to the ground and explained to me, "Once upon a time, I was a young girl in the real world. I loved Duel Monsters, but my father didn't approve of it. He said it was unfit for a girl to waste her time with such things. He said that I would be better off learning to sew and cook." Aona growled out and shouted, "He was a sexist son of a bitch and I hate him!" Her voice lost its regal tone with that sentence, and she sounded like a normal teenage girl. She quickly composed herself and said, "Ahem, I mean he was a womanizing pig and I curse his name every day."

I was confused for a second, then I smiled and said, "Too late. That princess talk is just a front, isn't it?" Aona sighed, then her posture relaxed and she told me in a normal voice, "Okay yes, that isn't how I usually talk. I just do that to intimidate my opponents. It doesn't change the fact that my dad was a bastard though, and all men are the same way. They're sexist asshole morons, all of them!" I looked at her in shock for a moment, then asked her, "You do realize how hypocritical you're being, right?" Aona asked me, "What are you talking about?" I told her, "Sexism goes both ways. By thinking of men that way, you're being sexist too. And all men aren't bad. Sure your dad sounds like he was a jerk, but not all men are like that. Believe it or not, there are good men out there." Aona looked away from me and said, "Oh yeah? Like who?" I rubbed the back of my head and said, "Well I might be a little biased here, but…me." Aona looked at me scornfully and said, "You? You lied about me stealing my card just so you could get your grubby little hands on it." I put my hand down and said to her with a determined look, "It's not for me. It's for Harold Pye." Aona looked shocked and asked me, "Pye?" I told her, "Yeah, Harold Pye. He told me that you jumped him in the forest and stole his card." Aona looked enraged, and yelled, "That bastard!" I backed up and said, "Whoa, easy there. What's the matter?" Aona's hands shook with rage and she said through clenched teeth, "The Pye family is one of the wealthiest in the virtual world. They've been trying to defeat me for ages." Confused, I asked, "What? Why?" Aona looked at me and said, "Because I am the Dungeon Master of Card Forest." I asked her, "Dungeon Master? What's that?" Aona explained to me, "A Dungeon Master is a Player who controls a certain Dungeon. They have complete control of that Dungeon, from the environment to the monsters that spawn there. There aren't many Dungeon Masters, because to become one you have to defeat a powerful boss, both in a duel and in combat. A Dungeon Master can also give up control of their Dungeon to another Player, and in fact are required to do so if they defeat them in a duel." I asked her, "Okay, that's cool and all, but what does that have to with the Pye family?" Aona continued, saying, "The Pye family wants this Forest, so they can turn it into a resort. They offered to buy it from me, but I said no, so they've been trying to force me to give it up by defeating me in a duel. However, the Tutorial Village not far from here is part of it, so if this Forest falls, it falls as well, and new Players will have nowhere to farm EXP or get equipment to take on tougher Dungeons." Aona crossed her arms and said, "The Pye family has failed every time, and it looks like now they're trying to weaken me by getting rid of my strongest monster." As I processed her words, I got more and more angry, and I shouted out, "So that son of a bitch used me!" Aona told me, "Yup. Looks like you got played big time, kid. Don't get me wrong, you seem nice, but now do you see why I think all men are assholes?" I sighed and said, "Yeah, I do. And I also get what it's like for your parent to not support me. My mom wasn't exactly thrilled with the idea of my coming here either. She thought I would be wasting my life," I turned my head up determinedly, "But I came here because I wanted to help people. I guess I kind of screwed up there though." I said, rubbing the back of my head again. Aona smiled and said, "Yeah. You did. But your heart was in the right place. Now, I believe it's your turn." Surprised, I said, "But if I win, this whole Forest will be gone." Aona smiled confidently and said, "Well I guess I'll have to make sure you don't win, now won't I?" A smile crept onto my face and I said, "You can try." And drew my next card.

I looked at it and saw that it was Plushy Spirit Box. 'This'll come in handy later.' I thought, and activated my Silent Fiend card. "I activate Silent Fiend, to bring back Pink Plushy Rabbit from the Graveyard." My monster came back on the far left, still with its hands covering its eyes. "Next I sacrifice him so that I can summon my Plushy Knight!" I said, and my monster appeared. It looked like Plushy Soldier, but with a shield and armor. It was a Light Warrior, with 1300 ATK and 1100 DEF. "Doesn't look like much." Aona commented, and I told her, "Maybe not right now, but he has a Special Ability. Whenever I summon him with a Plushy as a sacrifice, he gains 600 ATK." His ATK went up to 1900, and I pointed at her Amazoness Trainee and said, "Now, Plushy Knight, attack with Sewn Slash!" My Knight destroyed her Trainee, and her Life Points went down to 2900. "Now, Big Plushy Bear, attack her Life Points directly with Stuffed Slam!" I said, and her Life Points decreased to 1500 as Big Plushy Bear body-slammed Aona. "And now I'll end my turn." I said, and Aona drew a card. She smirked, and said, "I summon Amazoness Chain Master in Attack Mode." Her monster appeared on the field, and she said, "Next I activate De-Spell, to destroy your Heart of Clear Water." Her spell appeared on the field as mine was destroyed, and she continued, "I also play Amazoness Pit Trap, which destroys all non-Amazon monsters on the field." Another spell card appeared on the field, showing an Amazoness Trainee tossing a Griffore into a pit filled with spikes. My monsters all shattered, and she continued, saying, "And now I activate Nightmare's Steelcage. Now neither of us can attack for two turns." A large spiked cage appeared over the two of us, and the spell appeared on her field, and Aona said, "I end my turn. I hope you have a good hand, because the way things are going, you're going to need it." I looked at my deck and thought, 'This is it. If I don't draw the card I need now, I'm done for.' I drew a card and saw that it was Pot of Greed. I put it in my duel disc and said, "I activate Pot of Greed, which lets me draw two cards." I drew two more cards, and saw that they were Royal Tea Party and Plushy Conversion. I caught my breath, and smiled. I placed my Royal Tea Party in my duel disc and said, "I activate the spell card Royal Tea Party." A spell card appeared on my side of the field. It showed a Princess of Tsurugi, a Pumprincess, Princess of Ghosts, and a Curran Princess on it, sitting at a pink table drinking tea out of a pink tea set, on a pink background. Aona snickered and said, "Nice card. It come with a free purse?" I smirked and said, "No. But it does come with a great effect. I can Special Summon up to three monsters to the field from my Deck or Hand that have 'Princess' in their names, and I just so happen to have three monsters in my Deck who fit that requirement." I pulled out my Deck and pulled out three cards, then placed all three on the field and replaced my Deck. "Say hello to Princess of Yuki," I told her, and Princess of Yuki appeared in the middle space with 1500 ATK and 1300 DEF, "Lollipop Princess," I continued, and Lollipop Princess appeared on the right with 2000 ATK and 1700 DEF, "And last but not least, Plushy Princess." I finished, and Plushy Princess appeared on the right. She was a Light Fairy with 1200 ATK and 1000 DEF. She was the same size as Plushy Soldier, but was wearing a pink dress and had a gold tiara with a silver button on it. I then told Aona, "And thanks to Plushy Princess' Special Ability, I can Special Summon a Plushy from my Deck once per duel. And I choose Patchwork Plushy!" My monster appeared on the far right. It was a Light Fairy with 1600 ATK and 1200 DEF. It was about as big as Big Plushy Bear, and was stitched together from random pieces of white and black cloth with black thread, with black string for fingers and toes. It had two big cat ears on its head, and a tail made of black string. It was missing its left button eye, leaving only an X of thread, with the other one intact, and had a large gash for a mouth that was sewn together, and had a zipper on its back.

"Now I play Plushy Conversion! It transforms every monster on the field into a Plushy, and every monster that's summoned afterward becomes a Plushy too!" I said, and my spell appeared on the field, showing a stuffed Kuriboh with wisps of smoke around it. With puffs of smoke, Princess of Yuki, Lollipop Princess, and Amazoness Chain Master all turned into Plushys. They had all shrunk to about half their old sizes, but still big. Aona gave me a deadpan look and asked, "And is there a reason for this?" I slid my Plushy Spirit Box into my duel disc and said, "Actually yes. I activate the ritual spell Plushy Spirit Box." My card appeared on the field. It showed a big blue toy box with purple trim that had various Plushy monsters in it, in a dark room. The box appeared on the field, and I said, "This card is my ace in the hole. It lets me sacrifice my Patchwork Plushy," My Patchwork Plushy's zipper came undone, and a ghostly hand stitched together just like it was came out and Patchwork Plushy climbed into the box. Then, the same ghostly hand came out and grabbed my Plushy Princess, then pulled it into the box. I continued as it pulled our monsters into the box, "Then I can sacrifice every other Plushy monster on the field, and summon the most powerful monster in my Deck." The rest of our monsters had been pulled into the box while I spoke, and a glow came from inside. I told Aona, "Say hello to Plushy Neko Girl!" A large Plushy rose out of the box. It was a bit taller than Aona, and it was wearing a black Lolita dress that was made from the black parts of Patchwork Plushy's body, and its legs were made from black cloth as well, up to half way up its thighs, giving it the illusion of wearing stockings, and the rest was made of the white parts. It had a tail made of string, and its hair, which was also made of string, was in two big pigtails leading down to its knees. It had two cat ears on its head, and it had buttons for eyes, the left bigger than the right. Its mouth was still stitched together, but it was slightly open in a maniacal smile. She was a Light Fairy with 1000 ATK and 1200 DEF.

"Now, in addition to her own 1000 ATK points, she gains the ATK points of every Plushy Monster used to summon her." I exclaimed, and her ATK went up to 7100, and Aona looked at it in shock. "Due to your Nightmare Steelcage however, she can't attack. So I'll end my turn." I told Aona, and she drew a card, then said, "I activate Graceful Charity, which lets me draw three cards as long as I discard two." She did so, and played the card she kept. "I summon Amazoness Witch Doctor in Attack mode." She told me, and a tanned woman with a shaved head and tribal paint on her face appeared. She was wearing a woven grass skirt and bra, and she had a bone through her nose and was holding a wooden staff topped with a skull. She also had a cauldron filled with green bubbling goo in it next to her. She had 1300 ATK and 1200 DEF, and with a puff of smoke, became a Plushy. Aona pointed at her Witch Doctor and said, "My Amazoness Witch Doctor's Special Ability lets me bring one Amazoness Monster from my Graveyard once per turn. And this turn, I choose Amazoness Berserker!" Her Witch Doctor stirred the cauldron with her staff, and a ghostly version of Amazoness Berserker came out and solidified next to it, and it also became a Plushy. "Now I'll end my turn." She said.

I drew a card and said to myself, 'What is she doing? Neither of those monsters can stand up to Plushy Neko Girl, and they can't even attack until her next turn.' I saw that my card was Negate Attack, and I thought, 'Better safe than sorry.' And placed it in my disc, saying, "I place one card face down and end my turn." Aona drew a card, and then the Nightmare Steelcage disappeared and its card left the field. She looked at her card and said, "I activate another De-Spell, to get rid of your Plushy Conversion." My card disappeared and both of her monsters turned back to normal. "I also summon my Amazoness Chain Master from the Graveyard." Aona said, and her monster returned in a similar manner as the last one, and appeared on the left. "Now, I activate my trap card!" She told me, and the card she had placed face down at the beginning of the duel came up, and she said, "Thunder of Ruler makes you unable to attack your next turn. Now I'll end mine." I smiled and said, "Clever." She thanked me, and I drew a new card. It was Last Will. I told her, "I can't do anything now, so I'll end my turn." Aona nodded and drew another card. She smiled victoriously, and said, "I bring back my Amazoness Trainee from the Graveyard." Her monster appeared on the far left on the field, and she said, "Now I activate my own Pot of Greed card." Her spell appeared on the field, and she drew two cards, and placed one on the field, then said, "I summon Amazoness Tiger in Attack mode." Her monster appeared on the far right, then Aona said, "I also activate Tribute of Fallen Warriors." A spell with a picture of a bonfire with several Amazoness monsters around it appeared on her side of the field. She then told me, "This card lets me send all monsters on the field with the word 'Amazoness' in their names to the Graveyard, and summon an Amazoness monster from my Deck." Aona continues, then all of her monsters disappeared from the field, and the bonfire from the card appeared. "And now, say hello to Amazoness Tribemistress!" She exclaimed, and in a burst of flame, the bonfire went out and a monster took its place. It was as big as Plushy Neko Girl, and had a cape made from a wolf's skin, with its head on hers. She had a scar over her right eye, and was wearing more furs for clothing, and had a large sword made of rough stone in her hands. She was an Earth Warrior, and had 2700 ATK and 2500 DEF. "Now she gains half of the total ATK of her fallen comrades. Her monster's ATK went up to 6400. "Now I'll end my turn." Aona said.

"That was impressive, but she's no match for my Plushy Neko Lady!" I exclaimed, then drew a card. Aona smiled at me and said, "Not right now, but thanks to her Special Ability I can prevent you from attacking her for one turn, and I'll activate it now." A golden glow surrounded her monster, and I looked at the card in my hand and saw that it was Dragon Capture Jar. "I can't do anything again, so I'll end my turn." I said, and Aona nodded and drew another card. She smiled and placed it in her disc, and said, "I activate Amazoness Fighting Spirit, which gives my Amazoness an additional 1000 ATK." Her monster's ATK went up to 7400, and she pointed at Plushy Neko Girl and said, "Now my monster, destroy her Plushy!" As her Amazoness charged, I instinctively said, "I activate Negate Attack, stopping your monster in its tracks." Her Amazoness halted and returned to its original position. Aona sighed and said, "I end my turn." I drew a card, and saw that it was Mage Power! I caught my breath and thought, 'Mage Power. This card increases one of my monster's ATK by 500 for every spell or trap on my side of the field.' I looked at my hand and continued thinking, 'If I place Last Will and Dragon Capture Jar face-down, and then activate it, Plushy Neko Girl will gain 1500 ATK points. That'll be enough to destroy her monster and reduce her Life Points to next to nothing. Then the next turn, I'll win the duel.' I realized something, and thought, 'And her best card.' I looked at the cards in my hand, then at her monster, and then lowered my hand to my side and said, "I have no cards that can help me. I end my turn."

Aona drew a card and then placed it in her disc, then said, "I activate Amazon Village, to give my Tribemistress another 200 ATK." Straw huts appeared all around us, and Amazoness Tribemistress' ATK went up to 7600. She pointed at my Plushy Neko Girl again and exclaimed, "Now, Amazoness Tribemistress, destroy her Plushy Neko Girl with Ancient Sword Slash!" Her Amazoness rushed towards my Plushy, and with one slash, she was gone. My Life Points went down to 3500, and Aona said, "I end my turn." I nodded and drew a card, then saw it was Woodland Sprite. I sighed, then said, "I end my turn." Aona nodded, then drew a card and shouted, "Now, Amazoness Tribemistress, attack his life points directly!" Her Amazoness rushed towards me, and I braced myself. Her sword struck, and I screamed as my Life Points went down to zero. Both of our duel discs disappeared, along with her monster, and Aona walked up to me and helped me up. I rubbed my chest where the sword had hit me and told her, "Congratulations." Aona smiled at me and asked, "Thank you. I do wonder though, why did you not play any cards?" She pointed to my hand, and I put it and the rest of my cards in my Deck holster and said, "Oh, none of them would've helped. Just bad luck I guess." I then took a deep breath and said, "Okay, go ahead. Purge the Darkness from me or whatever it is you were going to do." Aona blinked in surprise and said, "You're going through with that?" I smiled at her and said, "Of course. A Player always keeps his word." Aona smiled at me warmly and said, "You know, it just occurred to me that I never got your name. You must have one, you said so twice." I smiled back at her and said, "It's Karo." She nodded, then said, "Karo, before I do this, I just want to thank you." I asked her, "For what?" Aona smiled at me and said, "For showing me that all guys aren't so bad after all. You've shown me that even though some guys are dicks, not all of them are." She reached for my forehead and asked me, "You're sure you want to do this?" I told her, "Yes. Besides, having my Attribute changed to Light won't be that bad." Aona giggled at me, then said, "That's not what I meant." Then touched my forehead. Before I could ask what she did mean, I passed out.

When I woke up, I felt strange. I sat up slowly, and noticed two new weights on my chest I looked down to see two small but noticeable breasts. My jaw dropped, and I stood up. I looked down at my body and noticed that my arms and legs were more slender than before, and I now had curves where I didn't before. I walked over to a nearby pond and my fears were confirmed. I had been turned into a girl. I took off my cloak and clothing and looked over my new body. I was petite, with B-cup breasts and a small but firm ass and decent curves. The most noticeable change was my hair. It had turned from my old dark brown color to a light purple color, almost white, and now went down to my ankles. I muttered to myself, "Okay, this is weird." I felt my throat, amazed at the change in my voice. It was now soft and airy, nothing like my old one. I put my clothes back on and thought about what to do next. 'What now? I can't just go back to town, can I?' I rubbed my chin as I continued thinking, 'Well, nobody really knows me except Rhea and Max. Max is a jerk, but I think Rhea will understand if I just explain what happened.' My mind made up, I went to walk back towards town, but I tripped on my new hair. I growled and grabbed my dagger. I grabbed my hair and cut most of it off, leaving it to fall down my shoulders. I was about to throw it to the ground when my Band started flashing. Still holding the hair, I touched it and a window popped up. "Congratulations!" It read. I continued reading, seeing that it said, "You have discovered a new Resource. Resources are metals or other materials that can be used to make weapons or armor." Intrigued, I continued reading, "The resource you have discovered is Fur. Fur is any fur or hair from any source, and can be used to make fur armor or whips, if the strands are long enough." "Whips?" I muttered to myself.

Shrugging, I put the severed hair in my Inventory, then started the walk towards town.

And that's the chapter. Told you you would be surprised. Until next time, everybody!


	8. Getting Acclimated

Hello readers, this is IndigoWerewolf with another chapter of Duel Monsters Virtual. I don't want to say much so I don't give anything away, but I can say that it will not be a setup for a duel in a later chapter. This one is just plot, so enjoy. I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh.

I walked through the forest, still getting acclimated to my new body, for about fifty minutes. Eventually however, I had to take a break, so when I reached a pond, I stopped and took a drink. I sat with my back against a tree with my eyes closed, panting. As I rested, I contemplated that, despite my smaller size, I still had the same amount of endurance. 'My wings are proportional to my new body too.' I thought to myself, rubbing my feathers. I got up to get moving again, but before I could I felt a faint rumble beneath my feet, then a gigantic spout of water came up from the lake, along with a gigantic monster. It was a giant sea serpent with blue scales, sharp teeth, a fin on each side of its head, and no eyes. It also had a sizable health bar above its head. "Kairyu-Shin!" I whispered. I didn't have time to do anything else however, as it dove for me. I rolled out of the way and pulled out my dagger.

It rushed at me again and I waited for the right moment, then jumped onto its head and pushed off, using it as a springboard. As it turned towards me, I used my wings to twist my body in midair and fired off a Shadow Dart from my pointer finger. As the small projectile of dark energy collided with the beast's face, its health bar depleted a small amount and it roared at me. I landed on the opposite bank and held my dagger in a reverse grip. As it rushed towards me again, I once again jumped onto and off of its head, this time sinking my dagger into the top of its skull. It roared in pain as its health bar went down some more, and I fired off two more Shadow Darts from each of my pointer fingers. Both of them collided, and it lost another chunk of health. It was now down to about seventy-five percent of its health, but it didn't seem eager to lose more, as instead of diving at me head-first, it charged up a sphere of water in its mouth, then fired it at me. I dove out of the way as the projectile broke at the place I had just been standing, and the monster started charging up another one.

I dodged the second attack, then charged up a Shadow Dart in each of my pointer and middle fingers. I launched all four at the serpent, and its head was forced back and its life bar went down to sixty percent. I prepared to fire another volley, but they fizzled out before I could finish charging them. "Shit, out of Mana." I muttered, and barely managed to avoid another water bomb from the Kairyu-Shin. I spotted my dagger still embedded in the head of the serpent, and I gritted my teeth and jumped off towards the monster. I flapped my wings for more momentum, and collided with the monster's face. I grabbed the top of its head and hoisted myself off. The Kairyu-Shin began bucking, trying to dislodge me, and I was happy to oblige as I grabbed my dagger and leaped off. I rolled and got back on my feet back on the shore just in time to dodge another water bomb. I ran towards a nearby tree and leaped in, using my wings for extra jump height.

Once I was even with the creature's head, I brace my hand not containing my dagger against the branch beneath me and braced my feet against the trunk with my legs bent as far as they would go. Acting quickly, I straightened my legs, propelling myself forward towards the beast, flapping my wings for extra speed. As I passed the water snake, I lashed out with my dagger as hard as I could. It roared at my attack and its health went down to fifty three percent. I glided into a tree on the opposite side, climbed to the appropriate height, and launched myself again. I continued attacking in this way, coming at it from different directions so that it couldn't attack me, until my legs were screaming and I couldn't perform this maneuver anymore. I stumbled onto the shore, my knees buckling as I fell. As the monster loomed over me, I tried to get up, but fell to my knees again as the pain flared up. As it charged another watery attack, I charged up an attack of my own, namely my Shadow Dart. I only had enough Mana for one however. "Better make this one count." I said panting. As it was about to launch its attack at me, I fired mine straight at its mouth. The Shadow Dart collided with its water sphere, rupturing it and canceling out the attack. Before it could react, I threw my dagger straight at its mouth as well, piercing its throat and causing the point to come out the other end. It roared in agony as it dissolved into EXP and was absorbed into me. I collapsed to the ground panting as the EXP was assimilated into my body. Once it was done, I got an alert saying I had reached level 3. I also saw that my Flight skill had gone up and my wings had grown so that the tips reached past my elbows when I compared them.

Scrolling through the skill list, I selected the Herbalist skill I had seen on my first level-up. Once I had, a screen showed up telling me how the skill worked and what plants I could harvest along with what they were used for. I noticed a couple plants on the list around me, and once I could walk I went around and gathered them. Once I was done, I had three HealClover, a plant similar to Aloe that was used in healing potions or could be pressed onto wounds directly. I used one to heal my feet, which were bleeding slightly from the tree bark. Once I retrieved my dagger from the lake, I set off in the direction of the town. Once I reached the edge of the town, I took a deep breath and tried to calm the butterflies in my stomach. 'Just calm down Karo, no one knows you here yet. Just Max, Horace, Rhea, and that asshole Harold Pye. I don't care what Max or Pye think, and I probably won't see Horace too often. Rhea will understand once I explain it to her, she has to.' I thought to myself. Not giving myself any time to psych myself out, I walked into the town towards the Inn. Once I reached it, I entered and looked around for Harold Pye. Sure enough, he was in the same place as before, calmly sipping a cup of coffee.

Enraged, I marched up to him and cleared my throat. Harold looked up and told me, "Yeah? What do you want kid?" I crossed my arms and asked him, "What's the matter, Pye? Don't remember me?" Harold looked me over and said, "No. Should I?" I told him, "Hopefully. After all, I'm the one you asked to get your mother's card back for you, remember?" Harold spat his coffee out and took another look at me, then scrambled up and desperately said, "I-It's you! D-did you get it back?" I sternly told him, "Cut the act, Pye. Aona told me all about how you want to destroy the forest." Harold looked at me surprised for a second, then calmly said, "Well, looks like the cats out of the bag." I growled and said, "You're an asshole, you know that? I have no idea why Max would tell me to help you." Pye got a thoughtful look on his face and said, "Wait. Max, Max. Red cape, bad attitude, worse haircut?" I cautiously asked him, "Yes, why?" Pye smiled wide and said, "I know that kid. I tried to get him to go out for me, but he saw through it and I had to tell him what it was really about. He wouldn't do it though, guess he wasn't as big a sucker as you." I growled and told him, "I may be a sucker, but I'm not going to take let you get away with this." Pye laughed and asked me, "And just what are you going to do about-OOF!" Harold gasped mid-sentence as my foot collided with his crotch. He collapsed to the ground twitching, and I exited the Inn quickly.

I marched down the street angrily, fuming at Pye's deception. Suddenly, I heard someone say, "Karo? Hey Karo, is that you?" I turned towards the voice to see Rhea walking towards me, and my eyes widened in surprise. "Rhea?" I asked. Rhea smiled and said, "It is you. I thought I recognized that cloak of yours." I got nervous and stuttered, "Uh, yeah, listen y-you're probably wondering why I'm a girl. Well, it was-". Rhea held up her hand and asked, "Let me guess. You lost to Aona, right?" My eyes widened in shock, and I said, "Yeah, h-how did you know?" Rhea smiled and told me, "She has a pretty big reputation around here. Don't feel bad, she's virtually unbeatable, and she does this to everyone who loses to her." I felt my nervousness fade away, but something still baffled me. "Does Max know what she does to people that lose to her?" I asked her, trying to figure something out. Rhea blinked in surprise and said, "Yeah, I think so, why?" I growled in anger and said, "That son of a bitch." Through gritted teeth. I marched down the street towards the Player district, with Rhea following me. "Wait, Karo, where are you going, and why did you ask about Max?" Still walking down the street, I told her, "The Request Max told me to go on was from some dick who tricked me into dueling Aona and said she stole his card, and he said he tried to trick Max earlier, but he figured it out." Rhea thought about it for a second, then exclaimed, "He set you up! He wanted this to happen!" Before either of us could say another word, I saw Max and marched up to him. "Max, you're fucking dead!" I growled out, and he looked at me and whispered, "Karo?" I told him, "Yes. And you have some explaining to do." Max burst into laughter and stammered out, "You fell for it! Oh man, when I told you about Pye I thought maybe you would take the bait, but I never expected you to seriously do it!" He laughed on the ground, and I shouted at him, "Get up so I can kick your ass!" Max got up and wiped a tear from his eye, then held up his arm and said, "Well if it's a rematch you want-OOF!" He doubled over as I delivered a swift kick to his nuts.

As he rolled on the ground in pain, I ran off with my head down so that he wouldn't see me crying. I dimly heard Rhea yelling after me, but I ignored her and kept running. I didn't stop until I was back out in the forest, and after a while I collapsed with my back against a tree, heaving with sobs. I held my knees against my chest and growled to myself, "Fucking Max. He doesn't even care that he's fucked up my life forever. He even has the nerve to challenge me to a rematch, the asshole." I kept talking to myself like this until I heard someone say, "Hey." Somewhere to my right. I turned my head to see Rhea standing there. I wiped my eyes and said to her, "Oh, hey." She sat down next to me and softly asked me, "Are you okay?" I sniffed and told her, "Yeah. Hey, sorry about what happened back there. I don't usually do that." Rhea smiled and said, "Don't be. He deserved it." I looked at her in surprise and asked, "You really think so?" Rhea told me, "Yeah." Then giggled and asked me, "Feels a lot more satisfying when you don't have to be afraid of retaliation, huh?" I gave a small smile and nodded my head, but tears sprung forth from my eyes anew as I remembered why I had done it.

"Why can't I stop fucking crying?" I asked myself, wiping my eyes. Rhea put her arm around me and told me, "It's okay. Your brain is just adjusting to the extra estrogen your body is producing." Confused, I asked, "What are you talking about? This is virtual reality, remember?" Rhea said to me, "Yeah, but your virtual body reacts to things just like your normal body would, remember?" Surprised, I told her, "Oh. I-I didn't know that." Rhea asked me, "Karo, have you ever actually been in virtual reality?" I told her, "Just once on my sixth birthday. After something happened then, my parents didn't want to go back." Rhea hummed and said, "Well, your body still performs all of its normal functions, so until your brain adjusts to the hormones your body's producing, you're going to be a bit more emotional than usual." I wiped my eyes again and remarked, "Well that sucks." Rhea squeezed me tightly and offhandedly said, "Yeah." I told her about my encounter with the Kairyu-Shin, and my reasons for becoming a Player. We sat in silence for a moment until I got up and said, "Well, I guess I should go check into the Inn. It's going to be a little awkward though." I cringed as I remembered the little outburst I had had there. Rhea looked at me in confusion and asked, "Why don't you just go to your Apartment?" "Apartment?" I asked her. Rhea smiled and said, "I keep forgetting you're new. It's basically what it sounds like, an Apartment where you can sleep and relax between Quests. Once you get some Coins and materials together, you can make your own house in a city or Dungeon, but you'll need the Dungeon Master's permission. Come on, I'll show you where you can get to your Apartment."

I followed Rhea to the Player district and Rhea and I walked over to the blue panel in the middle of the square. "This is the Warp Panel. You can get to your Apartment from here, along with any other Dungeons or cities you've already been to. Go ahead, try it." I stepped onto the Warp Panel and said, "Apartment." There was a flash of blue light, and I was suddenly standing in a comfortable-looking room. The War Panel I was standing on was in the corner, a couch with a table in front of it, a television set, a kitchenette, and it had a cream-colored carpeting. There was a bathroom with a walled in shower and a bathtub and toilet, along with a sink with a mirror on the wall behind it. There a door that led to a bedroom with a double bed, along with another one that led to a sizable basement. "Well, how do you like it?" I heard a voice behind me, and I turned to see Rhea standing in the doorway smiling. I smiled back at her and said, "It's pretty cozy." Rhea walked around and said, "Yeah, with your score I'm not surprised you got one of the good ones." She turned back to me and said, "Well, it's pretty late. I'll let you get some rest." Just before she left through the Warp Panel, I grabbed her arm and exclaimed, "Wait!" Rhea turned back to look at me and asked, "What is it?" I let go of her and fidgeted nervously as I said, "Well, like you said, it's pretty late. Why don't you stay here tonight?" Rhea looked surprised for a moment before smiling at me and saying, "Don't want to be alone tonight, huh?" I blushed in response, and Rhea giggled and said, "It's okay, I get it. You're scared, aren't you?" I defensively told her, "I-I'm not scared!" Rhea hugged me and whispered in my ear, "It's okay. With everything that's happened to you today, I'd be surprised if you weren't." I hugged her back as tears threatened to spill from my eyes again, and Rhea led me to the bed and we sat down. "Goddamn it, why does this keep happening?" I asked, as I wiped my eyes.

"It's okay, like I said, you're still really emotional." Rhea said, then continued, "Besides, you've been dropped from a hundred feet in the air, attacked by three monsters, tricked into dueling a Dungeon Master, turned into a girl, and had to deal with all of Max's bullshit. I'd be surprised if you weren't crying right now." I wiped my eyes in frustration and said, "Yeah, but this has been my dream since I was seven. To be a Player, to live in the virtual world…to help people." I whispered the last part softly. Rhea smiled and told me, "It's not all that simple, Karo." Rhea seemed to think for a moment, and then said, "You know, calling you Karo seems kind of weird now." I thought about myself for a moment, then told her, "You know, you're right. Karo does feel kind of weird." Rhea asked me, "By the way, how come your parents named you Karo? You said your parents are from America, but Karo is Japanese, right?" I smiled and told her, "Yeah. My parents and I were born in America, but my grandparents were from Japan. The name was my grandfather's idea. It means 'Fireplace', and my grandfather said when I was born that he could sense fire in my soul, at least that's what my dad said." Rhea nodded in understanding and asked, "Well, what do you want to be called now?" I thought about it for a moment, then said to her, "Kara. My grandmother once told me that that's what she and my grandfather would have named me if I had been born a girl." Rhea started giggling like mad, and I asked her, "What's so funny?" Rhea stifled her laughter and told me, "Nothing. It's just that Kara means raven, right?" I asked her, "Yeah, why?" She giggled a bit more and pointed at my cloak. I looked down and face-palmed. I had completely forgotten the raven clasp on my cloak.

Rhea giggled and I said deadpan, "Okay, okay, very funny. Can we please just get to sleep?" Rhea giggled again and said, "Okay." We got into bed and cuddled together, then went to sleep.

Thank you for reading everyone, I hope you liked it, no flames please.


	9. A Special Fitting

Hey everyone this is IndigoWerewolf with another chapter of Duel Monsters Virtual. The opening paragraphs for this chapter is something that I was going to put in the last chapter, but I forgot to. As usual, I don't want to spoil anything so let's just read. I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!

*KaibaCorp Main Office*

Seto Kaiba slammed his fist down onto his desk in frustration and cried out, "I don't get it!" He was wearing his white business suit, but the jacket was undone and the tie lay loose on his chest. His eyes had dark bags under them, indicating that he had not slept in a few days, and his hair was tussled and messy. The open windows behind him showed a full moon and a starry night. Before him on the computer screen was a video of the Duel between Karo Akaroe and Aona, the Dungeon Master of Card Forest. As he watched, the Plushy Duelist defeated the Dungeon Master. He gripped his hair in frustration and thought to himself, 'How could he lose? I've run this simulation a hundred times, and in every one he wins.' He gripped his hair harder and continued his thoughts, 'But not in the actual Duel!' Angrily, he scooped up his coffee and took a gulp, then recalibrated the simulation and ran it again. A creak at the door drew his attention, and he looked up to see his little brother Mokuba enter the room. The younger Kaiba walked up to his brother's desk and told him, "Seto, it's late. You need to get some sleep." Kaiba growled and told his sibling, "I can't sleep Mokuba, not until I find out how in the world Akaroe lost that duel." As the simulated duel unfolded on his screen, Mokuba sighed and told his older brother, "Seto, just let it go. Why are you so obsessed with this one duel? You weren't even the one dueling."

As the virtual Karo defeated the virtual Aona, Kaiba looked up at his brother and growled out, "Because it doesn't make sense!" He slammed his fist down on his desk again, startling Mokuba, then said, "He scored an almost perfect score against the hardest setting on our exam computers, thrashed that Max punk, then let him go and went on a Request from some guy he doesn't even know, only to lose to a Dungeon Master!" He threw his head upwards and tugged on his hair, crying out, "It doesn't make sense!" He grabbed his coffee cup and brought it up to his lips, then turned it upside down and shook it when he saw that it was empty. Angrily, he went over to his coffee maker, and when he saw that it too was empty, he started preparing a new pot. Mokuba sighed and told his brother, "Seto, if all you go by is his dueling skills, you'll never understand why he lost." Seto sat back down at his desk and asked his brother, "And just what is that supposed to mean?" The older Kaiba brought up a video of the actual duel and fast-forwarded to a place near the end. "There!" He cried out, jabbing his finger at the screen. He zoomed in on Karo's hand and cried out, "He has Mage Power in his hand!" Mokuba asked his brother, "Well then why didn't he play it?" Seto told his little brother, "That's what I can't figure out! That card would have won the duel for him, but he passes, like an amateur! Then, after his best monster gets destroyed, he passes again!"

Mokuba curiously asked his brother, "Seto, did you watch the whole video?" Seto told his brother, "Of course I did, Mokuba. I've watched it a hundred times." Mokuba asked his brother, "Including the part where Karo realizes he got tricked into dueling Aona?" Seto looked up at his brother and asked him, "If you're talking about the part where they bicker like an old married couple, yes." He looked back down at the screen and continued, "I tune out what they say though, since it's not relevant to the duel." Mokuba sighed, then rewound the video until he reached the point where they start to argue and Aona loses her princess voice. "Here," Mokuba said, "This time actually listen to what they're saying." "Why?" Seto asked his brother, to which Mokuba replied, "Just listen." Seto watched the video bored until the part where Aona explained the reason Harold Pye had tricked Karo, and then he leaned forward in interest. When the explanation was done and the duel had continued, he leaned back in his chair and asked his brother, "Interesting. I didn't know the Pye family was trying to take over Card Forest, or that they had tricked Karo into weakening Aona so that they could do it." He looked at his brother and asked him, "But what does all of this have to do with why Karo lost?" Mokuba rolled his eyes and told his brother, "Seto, Karo lost on purpose." Seto looked at his brother in surprise and asked his brother, "What? Why on earth would he do that?" Mokuba explained to his older brother, "Seto, it's like you said. Karo took the Request from Harold Pye without even knowing him." Kaiba interrupted his brother, saying, "And got tricked into a Duel with a Dungeon Master as a result." Mokuba continued, saying, "Yes, but he still did it. He went on the Request to get a card that he thought was stolen for a complete stranger, and he didn't do it for the reward either. He did it because he thought that person needed help. Then he realized he got tricked by that same guy, who really just wanted to bulldoze the forest, and then he purposefully lost the duel that would let him do that. Why do you think he did it?" Kaiba closed his eyes thoughtfully, and after a moment, smiled, opened his eyes and told him, "I get it. He threw the duel to get back at Pye." Mokuba asked his brother, "Excuse me?" In surprise. Seto continued, saying, "It's the perfect revenge. Pye used him and played him for a fool, and now he's ruined Pye's plans." Mokuba face-palmed and told his brother, "No Seto, he didn't do it for revenge." Seto looked to his younger brother in surprise and asked him, "Well then why did he do it?" Mokuba told his brother, "Because he didn't want the Card Forest to be destroyed. Tutorial Village is part of the Forest, and if it had been taken over by the Pyes, new Players wouldn't be able to train or get equipment, or even have anywhere to start out." Seto told him, "That's ridiculous Mokuba. He may have had honorable intentions, but new Players don't always go to the Tutorial Village." Mokuba told his older brother, "Actually they do. The Player Union recommends it to all new Players when they arrive." Seto looked to his younger brother thoughtfully and said, "Well, Karo had no way of knowing that. We dropped him in there a hundred feet in the air, remember?" Suddenly, a voice rang out in the room, "Actually, I believe he did." Seto and Mokuba jumped, and looked to the computer to see Noah's face on the screen. "Hey Noah. How long have you been listening" Mokuba asked. Noah smiled at the two and told him, "Long enough." He turned to the older Kaiba and told him, "Seto, Karo Akaroe may not have known the full extent of Tutorial Village's importance to new Players, but he did know that it was frequented by them." Noah continued, saying, "He spoke with a guide soon after arriving at Tutorial Village, and she told him that new Players often go there to train and duel." Seto looked down at his desk and said to himself, "So he did do it to preserve the Card Forest." He smirked to himself and said, "Looks like he's going to be more interesting than I thought."

Noah told Seto awkwardly, "Actually Seto, that's what I called you about." Kaiba looked to his green haired brother in interest and asked, "What is it?" Noah scratched his ear and said, "It would appear that Karo made a wager with Aona prior to the duel, and when he lost, he submitted to the terms of the wager, and as a result, he has been…changed." Kaiba asked the virtual boy, "Changed how?" Noah tried to think of a way to explain it to his older sibling, but then sighed and pulled up a window on his computer. "Just look." He said, and Kaiba and Mokuba read over the file. Both of their eyes widened at what they saw. In the picture of the Player's file, there was not a brown-haired boy, but a purple-haired girl. "That's a pretty big change." Mokuba said, and Seto asked his virtual brother, "What's the meaning of this Noah?" Noah replied to his older brother, "It would appear that the wager Karo and Aona made was that in the event that he lost, she would transform him into…well, a she." Kaiba narrowed his eyes and asked, "And just why would she do that?" Noah told the older Kaiba, "I did a background check on Aona. It would appear that she has a severe grudge against men, and so she quote, 'Purges the Darkness' from the duelists that lose to her." Seto Kaiba grinned and said, "Looks like I was right. She is more interesting than I thought she would be initially." The eldest Kaiba told his virtual brother, "Send her a message to come to the Player Union so that she can update the rest of her bio sheet. And arrest Harold Pye for submitting a false Request." Noah nodded and told his brother, "I'll get right on it Seto. In the meantime, get some sleep." The video call ended, and Seto got up from his desk and walked out of the room. Mokuba followed him, and as they walked down the hall, Mokuba asked his brother, "So, are you finally going to bed Seto?" The older Kaiba looked to his brother and told him, "Yes. After a long, hot shower." Both of the brothers went into their respective bedrooms, and went to bed, one a little later than the other.

*End Cutscene*

I woke up in my bed and stretched out, yawning. Seeing purple in front of my face, I brushed it away with my hand. I got up and looked around the room I was in. I was confused briefly before I remembered yesterday's events. 'Oh yeah, I'm a Player now.' I thought, then looked down and continued my thoughts, 'And a girl.' Looking around, I noticed Rhea wasn't here. I saw a note on my pillow and picked it up. "Dear Kara," it read, "I woke up earlier but didn't want to wake you up, so I let myself out. If you need me, I left my Player Address in this note. Just enter it into the 'Contact' screen on your Band's menu." Surprisingly, the fact that she had left didn't upset me as much as it would have yesterday. I didn't know it was because I was still groggy or if my brain had adjusted to my new hormones, but either way I went over to my suitcase, which I noticed by my bed. I opened it up and pulled out my toothbrush and toothpaste, then went to the bathroom. I brushed my teeth and then got my shampoo and soap out of my suitcase, then went back into the bathroom and disrobed and stepped into the shower. As the water cascaded down my body, I reflected on my situation. 'This is going to take some getting used to. But it's not like I can do anything about it, I guess.' I thought as I washed my body. When I reached my wings, I paused. I looked at the shampoo in my hand, wondering if I could use it on them. I shrugged and squeezed a small amount into my hands, then lathered it into my wings. It felt strange, but not bad. When I was done, I washed out the shampoo and brushed my fingers through my feathers.

When I was done showering, I got out and dried myself off. Suddenly, my Band started flashing, and a window appeared before me. "Dear Mr. Akaroe," It read, "It has come to our attention that you have recently been transformed into a female. Please report to the Player Union Headquarters so that your information can be updated." I closed the window, then put my clothes back on. As I did I noticed that they were looser than I had thought. The neck of the shirt exposed my shoulder, I had to pull the drawstring on my pants all the way closed for it to fit, and they were in fact the only things keeping my boxers on. I picked up the note Rhea had left. I typed the number she had left into the Contact menu, and her face appeared in a window. "Oh hey!" Rhea said, smiling. "How are you doing?" I smiled at her and said, "Good. Hey, do you know how to get to the Player Union HeadQuarters?" Rhea looked confused and asked, "Why do you ask?" I told her about the message, and she nodded in understanding. She told me, "Just get on the Warp Panel in your living room and say where you want to go." "Thanks Rhea." I told her, and she replied, "No problem. Oh, and Kara?" I asked her, "Yeah?" She told me, "You might want to get some new clothes." I smiled ruefully at her and said, "Yeah, I know. Know anywhere where I can get some?" Rhea thought for a second, then said, "Go to the Armor Shop in Tutorial Village. You can get some there. Just be careful, okay?" Confused, I asked her, "Why? What do you mean?" Rhea opened her mouth to say something, but then paused and said, "Nothing. Never mind." I shrugged it off and said, "Thanks Rhea, I'll see you later, okay?" She nodded, and I closed the window and went into the other room. I stepped onto the Warp Panel and said, "Player Union HQ." There was a flash of blue light, and I found myself in the lobby of a large building. There were a lot of people walking around. Surprisingly however, not many of them had Player Bands. I noticed an old bald man yelling at a clerk at a counter labeled 'Complaints'. I listened to what he was saying. "I have had it! Those punks tear up my store every other week!" He yelled, and the clerk replied, "Sir, there have been a large amount of monster attacks in the area, those Players are only doing their-". The woman was interrupted as the man grabbed her shirt and yelled at her, "I don't give a fuck. Now get on your fucking computer and do your fucking job!" I ran up to him and knocked his hand away, telling him, "Hey, get off of her!" The man leered at me, then grabbed my wrist and growled at me, "Don't fucking touch me you little slut." I tried to yank my arm away from him, saying, "Let me go!" The old man said through clenched teeth, "You need to learn a fucking lesson you little bitch!" He raised his hand up and backhanded me in the face, knocking me down and out of his grasp. As I lay on the floor, he grabbed me by the front of my shirt and pulled back his arm to punch me. Before he could however, a wall of force separated us, and a voice said, "That's quite enough." I turned to see a man in a dark suit holding a keypad walking towards us. When he reached us, he told the old man, "Mr. Mason, this is your third warning. I'm afraid I have to expel you from the building, and you will not be allowed back on the premises." The old man, who I now knew was named Mason, said to him, "Now look here. I work hard to maintain a clean store, and then these little twerps come and trash the place. Then, when I try to say something about it, harlots like her," He pointed a finger at me, still on the floor, and continued, "Attack me. And now you're telling me I'm getting kicked out for defending myself?!" He roared, and the man in the suit said, "Don't even try to act like you're the victim here Mason, I saw everything. The only one assaulting people here is you, and we've already told you that when Rogue Monsters attack, we can't be responsible for collateral damage they or the Players battling them cause." Mason sputtered angrily, then said, "I don't have to stand here and be talked down to like this, you know!" The man typed something into his keypad and remarked, "Well, now you won't have to ever again." Mason opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, he disappeared in a flash of blue light. The man walked over to me and helped me up, asking me, "Are you okay Mr. Akaroe?" I rubbed my wrist and replied, "Yeah, I think so." Then, a thought hit me, and I asked him, "Hey, how do you know my name?" He told me, "We've met before. I was the one who showed up to arrest Max Yusai when he forced you to wager on a duel, remember?" Something clicked in my mind, and I replied, "Oh yeah, it's, um, I'm sorry, what did you say your name was again?" He smiled at me and said, "I didn't. It's Keith." I smiled back and told him, "Well, thanks for saving me back there Keith." Remembering why I had come here, I asked him, "Hey, I got a message telling me to come here to update my Player Information since, well, you can see what happened." I gestured at my body, and he nodded and told me, "Just go over there and tell them that you lost to Aona." Then pointed at a desk next to the complaints section, with a sign that said, 'Help'. I asked Keith, "Thanks. But how did you know I dueled Aona?" Keith told me, "We get a lot of people here who lost to her. Don't worry, it's more common than you think." I thanked him again and walked over to the receptionist.

"Hi, I got a message telling me to come here. I lost a duel to Aona-". I said, and the woman held up a hand and told me, "Say no more." She got a blue plastic clipboard out from under her desk and gave it to me along with a stylus, then said, "Just fill out your new name and other information, then we can scan your body to get your new height and measurements." I thanked her, then sat down in a chair and saw that the clipboard had a screen with my information on it. A camera at the top clicked, and the picture updated itself to show the new me, and I entered my new Gender as Female, my new hair color as Light Violet, and my eye color hadn't changed so I left that the same. There wasn't much else to change, since I didn't know how tall I was or how much I weighed, so it wasn't long before I went back to the receptionist with the clipboard. She uploaded the new data, then told me, "Okay, just step into that room there and we can get your height and weight." She pointed to a door at the end of the desk, and I walked through to see a long hallway. I walked down and at the end was a door leading plain room with a panel on the ceiling and a small table against the right wall. A window appeared, stating, "Please disrobe and stand beneath the scanner." I closed the door and took my clothes and cloak off and placed them on the table, then stood beneath the panel. Suddenly, a beam of red light came from it. The light played over my entire body, scanning me from my feet to the top of my head. When it was done, a window appeared in front of me, with my new measurements. "Wow." I breathed out, "I'm smaller than I thought I would be." I left the room and went back up to the receptionist. She typed a few things on her computer and told me, "Okay Ms. Akaroe, we're all done. Thank you for your time." I said goodbye and went into the Warp Pad back to my Apartment. I sat down on my bed and rubbed some HealClover on my wrist where that jerk Mason had grabbed me earlier. 'I guess now I should get some new clothes.' I thought to myself, and went back to the Warp Panel. "Tutorial Village." I said, and suddenly I was standing in the square of the Player district.

I walked into the Armor Shop to see that the inside was decorated with various pieces of metal, leather, and cloth armor. There was a middle-aged woman with red hair in a braid and slightly pale skin and freckles at a counter on the far end, wearing a white dress that went halfway down her shins. There was various bolts of different colored fabric on shelves behind her. The woman looked up when I entered, and smiled when she saw me. "Hello there," She said, "I'm Rosie. Let me guess, you lost to Aona and now you need some new clothes, right?" "Y-yeah," I said, "How did you know?" Rosie smiled at me and said, "Rhea told me about you. Just come with me to the back and I can help get you some new underwear." Surprised, I asked her, "Underwear?" Rosie nodded and asked me, "You need some don't you?" Then she walked through a door behind her desk, and I shrugged and followed her into the back room, where there was a bench on the far wall with a bunch of measuring tapes on it, a stool in the middle of the room, and some candles on a table on the right wall. She lit the candles and told me, "Okay, just get those clothes off and we can get started." Surprised, I blushed and asked her, "Right now?" She nodded, and I wrapped my arms around myself and said, "I can't take my clothes off in front of you!" Rosie asked me, "Well why not?" I told her in disbelief, "Because I'm not getting naked in front of someone I don't know!" I exclaimed. Rosie put her hands on her hips and told me, "If I can't see what I'm going to be measuring, how am I supposed to help you find underwear?" I started to think about it, seeing the sense in her words. Seeing my further indecision, Rosie told me, "It's not like you have anything I haven't seen before." I sighed and muttered, "Yeah, not anymore." I then took my cloak off and Rosie took it, asking me, "You'll want to keep this, right?" I nodded and she folded it and laid it on the bench. I then took off my shirt, exposing my new breasts, and Rosie took that and laid on the bench too. It may have been my imagination, but I thought her eyes lingered for just a moment on my breasts. I then took off my pants and boxers. The pants she put with the rest, but the boxers she put on the other end, since I wouldn't be wearing them after today.

*Warning. Lemon Ahead!*

I started to smell cherries in the air, with a slightly more faint scent of oranges. I chalked it up to the candles and covered my breasts with my arms, and Rosie grabbed a measuring tape and told me, "Move your arms, sweetie." My blush intensified, and Rosie gave me a sympathetic look and asked, "Nervous?" I nodded, and Rosie asked me, "Tell you what? Would you feel better if I took my clothes off, too?" Shocked, I asked her, "What? W-why would you say something like that?" Before I could even finish my sentence however, Rosie had disrobed and stood before me in all her naked glory. My face turned completely red and I turned away embarrassed. Rosie's voice sounded out behind me, "Come on sweetie, we're both girls here. There's nothing to be embarrassed about." Rosie turned me around and I looked at Rosie's body. She had D-cup breasts, wide hips, a large but firm butt, and a hairless pussy. I stared down at the ground and muttered, "Can we please just get this over with?" Rosie smiled and motioned for me to put my arms down. I did so and she wrapped the measuring tape around my chest, lingering for a second before taking her hands away and taking down my cup size. "24 B." She remarked, and I felt my body start to heat up. I panted slightly and my body started trembling. Rosie noticed and asked me, "What's the matter?" I told her, "N-nothing. Just nerves." Rosie nodded and moved onto my waist. She measured my hips, then wrapped the tape around my butt. She seemed to dawdle, wrapping it around at several different angles, and if I didn't know better, I could swear she was feeling me up. As she did, my body heated up more and more and my breath came in short pants. I started feeling week in the knees, until I could barely stand. Suddenly, I collapsed and would have fallen off of the stool if it Rosie hadn't caught me. Rosie sat me down on the bench in her lap. "Are you okay, Kara?" Rosie said huskily. I panted, eyes half closed as I said to her, "I-I don't know. My body feels like it's on fire." Rosie's arms wrapped around my stomach from behind, and she said to me, "Looks like your nerves are worse than we thought." The smell of cherries and oranges was clear in the air now, and I could now smell a definite hint of blueberries. Rosie's hand inched downwards as she said to me, "Maybe we need to do something to help you relax." A blush permeated my cheeks as I asked her, "Like what?"

I felt Rosie smile behind me as she told me, "Like this." Suddenly, her hands made contact with my private area, and a bolt of lightning surged through my body. As she started to rub me, I panted and asked her, "W-what are you doing?" "Helping you relax." She told me. I felt, more than saw her smile, and she said, "No hair. I like that." Her left hand snaked upwards toward my breast, and she started to rub and grope my tit. I panted as her other hand rubbed my pussy, and as I felt liquid start to run down my thigh, she whispered to me, "You're so wet. Do you like me doing this?" "Y-yes." I stuttered, and she told me, "Then you're really going to like this." With that, she started rubbing my clit. I cried out as my hips bucked against my will, and Rosie continued her ministrations, her thumb rubbing my clit and the rest of her fingers stimulated my labia. Her other hand cupped my breast, then let it fall. She then started to pinch and twist my nipple, and I couldn't handle the pleasure as I shut my eyes and leaned against Rosie. As Rosie's hands continued stimulating me, two fingers plunged into my wet hole, and I cried out again in pleasure. They went deeper and deeper until they reached a barrier, and Rosie retracted her fingers before she started to pump them in and out, always stopping just short of the barrier. "We'll save that for later." Rosie breathed out, as her fingers thrust in and out of me. Rosie hummed and huskily said, "Doesn't this feel good? To feel my fingers slide in and out of your little wet pussy?" "Y-yes." I said, and she asked me, "I bet you never felt anything like this when you were a boy, did you?" When I didn't reply, she asked me again, "Did you?" "N-no." I said to her, and felt her smile again, and she said, "No, you didn't. Now however you can experience pleasure beyond your wildest dreams." She then bit down lightly on my ear, and I cried out once more, and as the pleasure started to build in my body, I told her, "Rosie, I-I think I'm going to-" Rosie's hands suddenly froze in place, and as the pleasure faded I looked up at her and asked, "W-why did you stop?" Rosie smiled at me, then said, "I don't want our fun to end so soon."

Suddenly, she got up, almost knocking me over. She turned around and sat me back down on the bench, then spread my legs wide and licked her lips. She leaned forward and gave a long, slow lick up my pussy. I let out a shuddering gasp as she flicked my clit with her tongue and started to eat me out. She alternated between short, quick licks and long, wide ones. I gripped the edge of the bench and bit my lower lip as she licked my pussy furiously. As my pleasure built, she moved her tongue's attention to my clit and inserted two fingers into my hole. I gasped as my wingtips started twitching, and she pumped her pointer and middle fingers in and out of my pussy, liberally coating them with my juices. As soon as she had started fingering me however, she stopped, and resumed simulating me with her tongue. I was confused until she moved my hips forward until my ass was off of the bench and Rosie had slipped a cushion underneath me. I wondered what she was doing until her middle finger started rubbing against my backdoor. "W-wait, Rosie," I stuttered, "I don't think I'm-AAAH!" I screamed out as her finger penetrated my anus, and she moved it in and out in time with her licking. After the initial pain, it started to feel good. Incredibly good, as a matter of fact, and I cried out as she added her other finger. As the pleasure started to build in my body once again, I told Rosie, "I-I'm going to cum!" Rosie stopped for a second and said to me, "Then cum." Then she started thrashing her tongue around inside me and fingering my ass with renewed vigor. Then, the pleasure inside me reached its peak, and I cried out wordlessly as my juices surged from my body and coated Rosie's face. Rosie didn't stop as I came however, and she fingered and licked me even more powerfully, prolonging my orgasm. Once I came down, I slumped down panting, feeling a warmth spread throughout my body as Rosie licked me clean. Once she was done, she remarked, "Delicious." She then came up to me and kissed me. I tasted myself on her lips, and her tongue forced itself into my mouth and we initiated a furious make-out session.

We separated for air, a single strand of saliva connecting our mouths. It broke however, as Rosie leaned down lifted up part of the bench to reveal a cherry-red 10' strap-on dildo, with another dildo at the bottom of the harness to pleasure the user. I blushed as I saw it, and Rosie took it out of the hidden compartment and put it on, gasping as the bottom dildo slid into her. I stared at the fake cock in awe, and Rosie said to me, "Turn around and brace yourself against the wall with your legs spread." I did as she said, blushing as Rosie rubbed the head of the dildo up and down my slit. Once it was slick, the redhead slowly slid the cock inside me. I gasped as it went deeper and deeper in, and Rosie paused once she reached the barrier she had left intact earlier. Rosie leaned forwards and asked me, "Do you know what that is?" I stutteringly told her, "I-it's my h-hymen." Rosie told me, "Good. You know once I break it, it's going to hurt, right?" "Y-yes." I replied, and Rosie asked me, "Do you want to go through with this, then?" "Y-yes." I whispered. Rosie asked me, "Are you sure?" "Yes!" I near shouted at her, "Please fuck me, I can't take it anymore, I feel I'm about to go insane!" I felt Rosie smirk and said, "Alright then." She then pulled out until only the tip was inside and thrust forward so that the entire dildo was buried inside me. I screamed out in pain as a burning sensation spread throughout my crotch, and tears fell from my eyes as I clenched them shut. "Shh Shh Shh Shh." Rosie shushed me and kissed the tears away, and as the pain slowly receded from my body, I turned to Rosie and nodded at her. Understanding the non-verbal cue, Rosie smirked and started thrusting in and out of me. As she slid the dildo back and forth inside me, the pleasure grew and grew inside of me until my body started thrusting back at her unconsciously. Rosie and I both gasped and moaned as she pounded me. Rosie pressed her breasts against my back and wings, and started rubbing and groping my own breasts as she fucked me. I felt my pleasure peaking once again, I told Rosie, "Rosie, I-I think I'm going to cum again!" In response, Rosie whispered into my ear, "Cum for me Kara. Cum!" Then bit down on my ear as we both screamed in orgasm, Rosie pounding into me vigorously, prolonging both of our pleasure. When both of our orgasms had ended, we both collapsed onto the bench. I moaned as she pulled out of me, and Rosie maneuvered us into the doggy position.

I gasped as Rosie rubbed the tip of the dildo against my anus, and told her, "Rosie, I-I'm not sure I'm ready for th-AAAH!" I cried out as Rosie ignored my objections and thrust the strap-on into my ass. The large dildo stretched me out far more than Rosie's fingers, and I groaned in pain. As Rosie thrust inside me, I slowly started to feel pleasure from her actions, until I was gasping and moaning in pleasure. Rosie started pinching and twisting my nipples, further adding to my pleasure. With her ministrations, it didn't take long for me to start to cum. I cried out in pleasure as my juices gushed from my pussy, and Rosie yelled along with me, thrusting rapidly to enhance both of our pleasure. Once my orgasm reached its peak, darkness spread across my vision and I passed out.

*Lemon End*

When I woke up, I was laying on my back on the bench, with Rosie, now dressed, sitting on the stool looking over various sets of bras and panties that looked to be my size. I groaned and Rosie looked at me and smiled. "Good morning Kara." "Morning." I mumbled, rubbing my eyes. Rosie held up a few of the underpants and told me, "While you were sleeping I picked out some designs I think you'll like." I looked them over and picked out a pair of white panties with pink trim, along with the matching bra. I also picked a black set with purple trim, and we went up and I paid for them. Rosie smiled as the transaction completed, and said, "Okay, now let's get you fitted for some other clothes." I yawned and told her, "I don't think I can keep my eyes open much longer. I think I'm just going to go get some sleep." Rosie smiled and said, "Okay, we can get to that tomorrow then." I nodded, then put my purchases in my Inventory and turned to leave, but a thought occurred to me and I turned back and asked, "Hey, why do you have all of those fabrics behind you, I thought you sold armor and clothes?" Rosie looked behind her, then turned back to me and told me, "Oh, I do, but I also sell fabric and thread so that people can make their own clothes with their Sewing skill." I looked at her in surprise and asked, "Players can make their own clothes?" Rosie smiled and said, "Yes, and as a matter of fact they tend to be better in quality than store-bought clothes. Most don't however, since they actually have to know how to sew to use the skill. They also have to have a needle and thread, but I sell those things here too." I looked over the fabrics and told her, "I think I'd like to do that." Rosie smiled and told me, "Well, like I said, you need to know how to actually sew, and even then you won't be able to make anything of very good quality until you get your Sewing skill up a bit." I smiled back and told her, "It's okay, I can sew. And I don't mind farming my Sewing skill a little." I bought some cotton fabric, along with a basic needle and some thread. I put it all in my Inventory and left the shop.

Once I was outside, I saw that the sun was going down, and I walked sorely into the Warp Panel. I went to my Apartment and took off my cloak and the rest of my clothes, then got into bed and pulled the covers over me, and went to sleep with a smile on my face.

And this chapter is done, please let me know what you think and if I should put more lemons in here, but as usual no flames!


	10. Sewing and a Challenge

Hello everyone, this is IndigoWerewolf with yet another chapter of Duel Monsters Virtual. Now, as you probably saw, I gave this chapter a name. I will be doing this from now on, and give the other chapters before this names as well, because this story is my personal favorite, even if it's not my most popular one. I don't want to give anything away as usual, so I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh and let's read!

I woke up to a loud beeping sound. I opened my eyes blearily to see nothing but darkness, and I couldn't breathe for a second. I raised my head and my pillow fell of off my face, and I realized I had pressed my face into it sometime while I was sleeping. The beeping noise continued, and I stretched my arms and noticed that my Band was flashing jade green. I touched the gem and a window with Rhea's face popped up, startling me. "Hi there sleeping beauty," She said, "How'd you sleep?" I yawned and told her, "I was doing just fine until your call woke me up." Rhea giggled and told me, "Sorry. I just wanted to see how you were doing after your," Rhea seemed to be trying to think of how to express her words, then continued, " _special_ fitting." She giggled with the word 'Special', and my eyes widened as I asked her, "Wait a minute, you knew that was going to happen?!"

Rhea looked sheepish and teasingly said, "Maybe." I waited for my anger to bubble to the surface, but it never came. I was still upset, but there was no blinding anger like there should be. "Why am I not angrier about this?" I asked myself. "I can explain that." Rhea said. "Rosie lit some candled before measuring you, right?" She continued. I told her yes, and she smiled and explained, "Those aren't any ordinary candles. They're special aphrodisiac candles. The cherry-scented one makes you horny, the orange one lowers your inhibitions, and the blueberry one calms you down. That one takes longer to work, because she doesn't need it to until later." Once she was done, I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair, then said, "Well, that explains why I didn't freak out once I woke up earlier, and why I don't feel angry now." Something occurred to me, and I asked her, "But why would you tell me to go to her if you knew this would happen?" Rhea gave me an apologetic face and said, "Because you were having such a hard time earlier. I thought maybe I could help you see that being a girl isn't all bad. Besides, Rosie is," Rhea closed her eyes, then hummed and sultrily said, "Amazing."

After she was done, I blushed and told her, "Well, thanks I guess. I take it you've had one of her _special_ fittings, then?" This time it was Rhea's turn to blush as she said, "Yeah, she does it to all the girls that come into her shop." She paused, then said, "Well, the ones that are legal age anyway." She giggled, then said, "You know, she almost didn't believe me that you were 18 at first. You know, since you're…" Rhea let the statement hang, then cleared her throat and said, "I'll shut up now." I grinned ruefully at her and said, "It's okay. I know I'm short." Rhea giggled and said, "Okay. Oh, and by the way, you might want to take it easy today. From what I heard, Rosie took a lot out of you." I blushed again and said, "Don't worry, I will." Rhea nodded, then said, "Okay. Bye!" I responded with the same farewell, and the window disappeared. I fell down onto my back, then got up again as I realized that I had squirmed out of my shirt at some point in my sleep. I blushed even harder as I realized that Rhea must have had a full view of my chest the whole time we were talking. I groaned and told myself, "Guess there's nothing I can do about it now."

I got up and staggered a bit as I was slightly weak in the knees, and thought to myself, 'Guess I really should take it easy. There's no way I'll be able to fight in my condition.' I then walked down to the bathroom and took a long, hot shower. Once I was done, I retrieved my new underclothes from my Inventory and after a moment's deliberation, put on the white and pink pair. Since it was a bit uncomfortable, and I was just sitting by myself, I decided to forgo the bra for now and just wear my shirt and panties. I sat down on the couch in my living room and tried to think of something to do. Suddenly, I remembered the other things I had gotten at Rosie's shop, and I pulled the fabric, thread, and needle out of my Inventory. Unsure of how to proceed, I opened my Band's menu to see if it had any clues as to how to create clothes with it, besides the obvious just stitching it together. I opened the menu marked 'Crafting', and there was a pattern for a white shirt and white pants like I had gotten when I first spawned, and was wearing now. There was also an explanation window that read, "Players can craft a variety of objects using Resources. To craft an item, you need an Item Recipe, which can be obtained by leveling up, purchasing them, or by getting them as drops or Quest Rewards. You can also use Free Crafting Mode, which lets you make custom items and Recipes once your skill reaches a good level. Once you master the recipe, you'll be able to alter or enhance it and add special effects or accessories." I looked over the Recipes I had, and at my current level, I could only make a Noob Shirt or Noob Pants. I was a little surprised that that was the official name, but I shrugged it off and picked the Noob Shirt Recipe. I got my needle and thread, along with some cloth, and got to work to make one in my new size. Once I was done, a miniature window popped up above it, saying, "Average Quality", and another window popped up, saying, "Congratulations, you have crafted an item. The quality of an item depends on how well you make the item, how skilled you are in the Recipe you are using, and your level in the Skill involved, so do not be discouraged if you cannot craft good-quality items right away." I nodded and got back to work, and after five more tries, and leveling up in Sewing twice, I made one that read, "Superior Quality" I smiled to myself, and got to work on the pants. After three attempts and another level, I made a pair of Superior Noob Pants.

I put both Superior items in my Inventory, along with all of the others, then I decided to check if I had learned any new Recipes. I opened the Crafting menu in my Band to see that I had learned how to make Basic Thread. It said all I needed was some Fur, and after a second, I remembered that I had plenty in the form of my hair in my Inventory. I pulled it out, then selected the Recipe, got an empty spool, and started weaving three strands together like it instructed me to. I had used all three spools of my thread making the Noob shirts and pants, so I made only three spools of thread. Each one was labeled Light Violet Thread, and was of Average Quality. Unfortunately, I couldn't use them to make more shirts or pants, since the Recipe required I use White Thread and I hadn't mastered either recipe. 'Come to think of it, what am I going to do with all the extras?' I thought to myself, 'I really only need one pair since I don't need to wash them.' I sighed, then said to myself, "Maybe I should ask Rosie." With that, I got up and put my bra on, along with the Superior Quality clothes I had made, then put the old shirt in my Inventory, resolving to use it as pajamas, then got my dagger, my cloak, and my Deck, and went onto the Warp Panel, and upon reaching Tutorial Village, walked into Rosie's shop. Rosie looked up and smiled when she saw me, and said, "Hi there Kara, nice to see you again. Nice to see you got some clothes that fit. Did you make them yourself?" I smiled back and said, "Yes. And that's actually what I came here for. I made a bunch of others but don't know what to do with them." Rosie told me, "Well I'll buy them from you, as long as they're Average or Superior Quality." I blinked and asked, "Really? But they're just Noob Gear." Rosie smiled and told me, "New Players come here a lot, remember? And it takes them a while to get some Coins together for good armor, and since most of them aren't used to wearing anything heavier than a sweatshirt, they usually buy Average or Superior Quality versions of the Noob Gear from me so they can take on stronger monsters and get more Coins." I nodded and said, "That makes sense I guess." Then I pulled all of the spare clothes I had made out of my Inventory, but then a thought occurred to me, and I told Rosie, "Wait, these are all in my size. I doubt they would fit anyone else." Rosie smiled and said, "Don't worry, it's easy to resize them." I shrugged and placed the Average Noob Gear on her counter, and she looked it over and muttered, "Four Average Quality Noob Shirts and Two Average Quality Noob Pants, 8 coins each, that comes out to 48 Coins." She counted the Coins out of somewhere below her counter and handed them to me. I put them in my Inventory, then bought some more Basic Thread, along with a Recipe for a Beanie Hat, along with the materials for it, and put them all in my Inventory. I thanked Rosie and decided to go to the Forest to pick some HealClover, since I was still feeling a little shaky.

Before I could however, I heard a voice I recognized say, "Hey Karo!" From across the square. I looked to the source to see it Max, James, and Jacob walking towards me. Max had an angry look on his face, and when he got close enough I told him, "It's Kara now, thanks to you." Max sneered and told me, "It's not my fault you were gullible enough to listen to that asshat. But I'm not here about that." I frowned and told him, "Actually, it kind of is. And what are you talking about?" Max, clearly frustrated, told me, "You know exactly what I'm talking about. You kicking me in the groin ring a bell?" I snickered to myself at the memory, and Max snarled at me, "It's not funny!" Still with a smile on my face, I told him, "Yes it is Max, and you earned it." Max then said, "I don't give a fuck, you and I are going to have a rematch, right here, right now." I didn't fall for his taunt, and asked him, "And just what makes you think I'm going to Duel you?" Max, with an unnerving smile, said, "Oh, we're dueling all right, whether you like it or not." I sighed and face-palmed, then told him, "Fine, since it's obvious you're not going to leave me alone until I duel you, I'll duel. But no dirty tricks like you pulled last time, got it?" Max sneered and said, "Don't worry, I won't. Back then I challenged you 'cuz I wanted your card. This time, it's strictly revenge." We walked to the cul-de-sac on the right, which was the only free one, then materialized our duel discs and simultaneously said, "Let's Duel!"

And this chapter's done. Sorry it's a little short, but as usual, I don't want to make it too long by putting the duel in here, so it's going to be next chapter. See you then!


	11. WereBeasts

Hello everyone this is IndigoWerewolf with the next chapter of Duel Monsters Virtual. Now, I am sorry about not updating my other stories in a few days, but I wanted to write the duel I had set up last chapter. Next time, I will post another chapter of Old Friends, New Tricks. I hope you like this chapter, and I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh, so let's read!

We both walked into the cul-de-sac on the right and materialized and activated our Duel Discs. Max's looked different however, instead of having a sword and shield, it now looked like a standard Duel Disc, except it had what looked like claws on the ends, with fangs pointing upwards on the main body. The colors were the same, with the claws and fangs being blood-red and the main body being silver. I asked him, "Hey, what happened to your duel disc?" Max smirked and told me, "I was hoping you'd notice that. It's simple. A person's duel disc reflects their Type, before my type was Warrior, but I've changed it to Beast-Warrior." I caught my breath and asked him, "You can change your Type?" Max chuckled and told me, "That's right. All you need is a DNA Surgery card and you can get it changed at any Alchemist's shop." I asked him in surprise, "It's that easy?" Max chuckled and said, "Well, the card's not cheap, and it's a bitch choosing all your new Abilities, but yeah, it is." Curiously, I asked him, "Okay, but why did you not want to be a Warrior anymore?" Max chuckled and asked me, "Don't you know anything? New Players just start out as Warriors since its easy, but they change their Type later once they get some levels in and get used to fighting." He then opened his Band menu and scrolled through something while saying, "You know, I was going to do this later in the duel, but I just can't resist."

He selected something on the window, and then doubled over in pain. As I watched, his ears lengthened and drew themselves into a point, his canines elongated, his fingernails turned to fangs, and a long wolf's tail sprouted from the base of his spine. He let out a bestial howl and said, "Man that felt good." Seeing my shock, he smirked and asked me, "What's the matter? Intimidated now that you're not the only one here who's not quite human anymore?" Composing myself, I told him, "Not really, I just didn't think it was possible for you to get any uglier, but apparently I was wrong." Max sneered and said, "Whatever. Let's just get this duel started already." We both drew five cards, and I saw that I had drawn Dandylion, Sewing Needle, Monster Egg, Invigoration, and Constellar Belt. 'Crap, I can barely do anything with this hand.' I thought to myself, and heard Max laugh maniacally. "What's so funny?" I asked him, and he replied with, "Oh nothing, it's just that you're going down. Now, I believe its ladies first." I smirked at him and said, "Well then take your turn already." Max let out a feral growl and said, "Just go." I smiled to myself and told him, "If you insist." And then drew a card, and saw it was Plushy Cage. 'This could come in handy later. But for now I need to buy myself some time.' I thought to myself, then exclaimed, "I summon Dandylion in defense mode." My monster let out a squeak and appeared in the middle monster space, and then I told him, "And that'll do. Your move."

Max smirked and said, "What's the matter, decide to ditch your Plushys after you got beat by Aona? I don't blame you, although this isn't much of an improvement." I smirked right back and said, "Far from it. Sorry to have to tell you this, but my Plushys are here to stay." Max looked confused and said, "But in our first duel you said your Deck had nothing but Plushy monsters." I corrected him, "No, I said my Deck had a lot of them. I do have monsters besides my Plushys, as you might recall from our last duel. Remember, you got beat by my Lollipop Princess?" Max growled and said, "Yeah, well I'm not losing again." He then drew a card, then looked at it and placed it in his middle monster space. "I summon Bestial Beaver in attack mode!" An ordinary brown beaver appeared on the field, holding a small log in-between its paws. It was a Water Beast and had 1000 ATK and 1300 DEF. I gave him a deadpan look and said to him, "Uh, that beaver doesn't look too bestial." Max held up a card and told me, "It may not look like much now, but once I play this card, it'll destroy your pitiful Dandylion." The end of his duel disc opened up and he placed the card inside, then dark clouds spread over our duel, and they parted to reveal a glowing full moon. "Thanks to the field spell Full Moon, I can sacrifice my Bestial Beaver so that I can summon a monster that's twice as strong!" He exclaimed, and his Beaver stared up at the moon slack-jawed, until suddenly its eyes started glowing red, and it started convulsing, then screamed and grew until it was over twice its original size, and its front buck teeth lengthened and narrowed until they were shaped like a curved arrowhead, and its paws grew razor-sharp claws and spines of bones along its back. It chomped its log in half and roared, and its ATK displayed 2000 and its DEF showed 650. I jumped back and said, "What the hell? Why did your Bestial Beaver wig out like that?" Max laughed and told me, "It's not Bestial Beaver anymore. Allow me to introduce you to WereBeast Beaver!"

He explained to me, "You see, the Bestial and WereBeast archetypes are two archetypes of Beast and Beast-Warrior monsters respectively. The WereBeast monsters can't be normal summoned except by sacrificing its Bestial equivalent, but they're all epically powerful!" He then pointed at my monster and said, "But why I am I telling you about it when I could be showing you? WereBeast Beaver, attack her Dandylion!" His monster rushed towards my Dandylion, and with one chomp, it was gone. Max laughed and said to me, "Hope you haven't gotten too attached to your Life Points, because next turn, they're gone!" I smirked at him and told him, "I don't think so. See, when Dandylion is sent to the Graveyard, I get two Fluff Tokens to protect my Life Points!" The two token monsters appeared on my field, and Max growled and said, "I end my turn. Make your move." I drew a card, and saw that it was A Rival Appears! I frowned and told him, "I place one card face-down and end my turn. Your move." I put A Rival Appears! In my duel disc, and it appeared face-down on the field. Max gave me a smirk of his own and told me, "Well then I guess it's up to me to get this party started." He drew a card, then placed it on his disc and exclaimed, "I summon Kanan the Swordmistress in attack mode!" He then put two cards in his duel disc and told me, "Now I equip Kanan with Ring of Destruction!" His first card flipped up, revealing the aforementioned card, and a black collar with eight red bulbs appeared on his Swordmistress. "Ring of Destruction lets me sacrifice one of my monsters and deal damage equal to its ATK points to both of our Life Points. Of course, my Life Points will be safe thanks to Ring of Defense!" He explained, and his other card flipped up and a green ring appeared in front of him and spun rapidly. Suddenly, his monster's collar exploded, and as the flames licked over my skin, I screamed out in pain. Then, my Life Points dropped down to 2600.

Both of Max's cards broke apart and he laughed maniacally. I started trembling as the smoke cleared, and Max taunted me, saying, "Aw, what's the matter, can't take it?" Not responding, I balled up the fist not containing my cards and quietly said, "You just destroyed your own monster." Confused, Max asked me, "Excuse me?" I looked up at him, my face contorted in rage, and quietly asked, "How could you do that?" Max told me, "Were you paying attention? I just blasted your Life Points." I growled at him and said, "Yeah, and you just destroyed one of your own monsters to do it. What the hell is wrong with you?" Max asked me, "Are you serious? It's my monster, what do you care?" I snarled at him, "Because you can't just throw your monsters away like that! If you don't respect your monsters, it's no wonder you always lose!" Max gave me an are-you-serious look and asked me, "Are you kidding me? Duelists sacrifice monsters to summon stronger ones all the time. How is that any worse than what I just did?" I shouted out to him in response, "Because then you're not just throwing them away to take a cheap shot at someone's Life Points! You have to respect your monsters, or else they'll never help you when you need them!" Max scoffed at me and told me, "Whatever. WereBeast Beaver, destroy one of her Fluff Tokens." His monster destroyed my Token, and he then said, "I end my turn. Your go." I drew a card, and saw it was Plushy Fly Trap. I smirked and told him, "I sacrifice my Fluff Token so that I can summon my Plushy Fly Trap in attack mode!" My monster roared as it appeared, and the ATK and DEF indicators showed 1800 and 1600 respectively, and I then told him, "And now I equip my Fly Trap with Sewing Needle, which increases his ATK by 300!" A giant sewing needle sprouted from its forehead, and its ATK went up to 2100. I pointed at its WereBeast Beaver and exclaimed, "Now, Plushy Fly Trap, destroy his Beaver!" My Plushy Fly Trap scooped up the WereBeast monster in its mouth, then flung it straight up in the air and caught its mouth again as it fell, then swallowed. Max's Life Points went down to 3900, and I told him, "And now I'll end my turn. Your move." Max drew a card, then placed another on the field and said, "I summon Bestial Porcupine in defense mode!" An ordinary porcupine appeared on his field, with 1100 ATK and 1500 DEF, but then it eyes turned red and it grew to three times its former size, and it had 550 ATK and 3000 DEF. It crouched down in a defensive position, and Max then told me, "Now I end my turn." I drew a card, and upon seeing that it was Mush Plushy, I smirked and told him, "Now you're in for it. I equip my Plushy Fly Trap with Mush Plushy!" I slid the card into my spell card slot and it appeared on my monster's forehead, destroying the Sewing Needle I had placed on it earlier. It was a Light Plant with 300 ATK and DEF. It was a short cylindrical mushroom with tiny arms and black eyes and a small black circle for a mouth, and a dome-shaped red and white spotted cap. My Sewing Needle card disappeared from the field, and Max told me, "You need to get your eyes checked. That's a monster, not a spell." I smirked, and told him, "Maybe so, but when Plushy Fly Trap is on the field, I can use it as an equip spell, and increase my Fly Trap's ATK by 500 for each one, for a maximum of three Mush Plushys!" My monster's ATK went up to 2300, and seeing Max's horrified expression, I told him, "Don't worry, Mush Plushy does have a weakness. Plushy Fly Trap can't attack until he has three Mush Plushys on him, but he also can't be destroyed, however he can still change his battle position, which I think I'll do now." I switched Plushy Fly Trap into defense mode, and his head drooped down.

"Now I'll end my turn." I told him, and Max drew a card, then placed in on the field. "I summon Bestial Serpent in attack mode!" A green snake appeared on his field, it had 1200 ATK and 1300 DEF, and its eyes glowed red, it grew until it was as long as a school bus, and its scales darkened and it grew a dull horn on its nose. It hissed, and its ATK was 2400 and it had 650 DEF. Max told me, "Now I end my turn." 'I'm starting to notice a pattern here.' I thought, then continued, 'Each WereBeast monster has twice the ATK of the Bestial monster used to sacrifice it, but only half the defense. Well, almost all.' I added the last bit as I looked at WereBeast Porcupine. I was brought out of my thoughts by Max shouting, "Hey Kara! We're in the middle of a duel here, in case you've forgotten!" I drew a card and told him, "Yeah yeah, keep your pants on." I looked at the card in my hand and saw it was Different Dimension Capsule. I put the spell in my duel disc and told Max, "I activate Different Dimension Capsule. Now I can take one of my cards out of play for two turns, then put it directly in my hand. I took my deck out of my duel disc, then selected the one I wanted and put it in the out of play slot. The capsule appeared on the field, and my card lowered in, then the capsule sank back into the ground. I shuffled and replaced my deck, and told him, "My turn's over. Your move." Max drew a card, then told me, "I summon Battle Ox in attack mode. And that ends my turn." His monster appeared, with 1700 ATK and 1000 DEF.

I drew a card, and saw that it was Widespread Ruin. 'This'll come in handy later.' I thought to myself, then put it in my duel disc and told him, "I place one card face-down and end my turn." Max drew his own card and then said, "All right, I'll use Polymerization to fuse the Battle Ox on my field with the Mystic Horseman in my hand to summon Rabid Horseman!" His monsters swirled together as the card appeared on the field, and his Rabid Horseman appeared on the field, with 2000 ATK and 1700 DEF. He then told me, "Now I end my turn. Your move." I drew a card, then told him, "Thank you. Now, since it's been two turns since I activated Different Dimension Capsule, I get to bring the card I picked to my hand." I placed the card I had selected into my hand, and the Capsule disappeared. I held it up and told him, "And I think I'll use it now. Come on out, Mush Plushy!" My monster appeared on my monster's forehead to the right, and his ATK went up to 2800, and I then looked at the card in my hand. It was Plushy Fairy, and upon seeing so, I summoned it. Plushy Fairy was the same size as my Plushy Soldier, but had pink hair in a ponytail, with a light pink slip dress and pink gossamer dragonfly wings. She also had a light pink aura surrounding her. I told him, "I summon Plushy Fairy in defense mode! And thanks to her special ability, I get to bring one spell card from my graveyard to my hand once per turn, and I choose Different Dimension Capsule!" I brought it out and placed it in my duel disc, and took out my deck and selected the card I wanted, then placed it in the out of play slot and shuffled and replaced my deck. "Now I end my turn." I told him, and Max drew his card, then exclaimed, "WereBeast Serpent, destroy her Plushy Fairy with Venomous Fang!" As the giant snake lunged towards my monster, I activated my trap and told him, "I don't think so. I activate Widespread Ruin, which activates when you declare an attack!" MY trap flipped up, and his monster broke into pieces. "It destroys the monster on your side of the field with the highest ATK!" He growled, then said, "It doesn't matter. Now, Rabid Horseman, destroy her monster!" His horseman galloped toward my fairy, and with one swipe, she was gone. "Now I'll end my turn." He said.

I drew a card, and saw it was Patchwork Plushy! I caught my breath and stared at the card for a moment, and Max asked me, "What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?" I smirked at him, then placed my monster on my duel disc and told him, "No, but soon one'll have your Life Points! I summon Patchwork Plushy in attack mode!" My monster appeared on the field, and it had 1600 ATK and 1200 DEF. Max laughed and asked me, "That's your monster? It can barely hold itself together, let alone fight!" I smirked and told him, "You won't be saying that when you see her special ability. See, for every Plushy monster on the field, she gains 300 ATK and DEF!" As soon as I had finished speaking, Patchwork Plushy's ATK went up to 2500, and her DEF went up to 2100. Max stepped back, and I pointed at his Rabid Horseman and shouted, "Now, Patchwork Plushy, destroy his Rabid Horseman with Patch Pummel!" My monster rushed towards his, and slammed her palm down on his horseman, destroying it. Max growled as I told him, "Now I'll end my turn." Max drew a card, then placed it on his duel disc and said, "I summon Silver Fang in defense mode and end my turn." His monster appeared on the field, with 1200 ATK and 800 DEF. I drew my own card, and saw it was Spirit of the Pot of Greed. I then told Max, "Since it's been two turns since I've played Different Dimension Capsule, I can take the card I put out of play and place it in my hand, and surprise surprise, it's Mush Plushy!" I put it in my duel disc, and the third Mush Plushy appeared to the left of the middle one. Plushy Fly Trap's ATK went up to 3300, and I then told Max, "And since it's a Plushy monster, Patchwork Plushy gains 300 ATK!" Patchwork Plushy's ATK went up to 2800, and I pointed at his WereBeast Porcupine and exclaimed, "Now, Plushy Fly Trap, destroy his WereBeast Porcupine!" My monster devoured his Porcupine, and I then shouted out, "Patchwork Plushy, attack his Silver Fang!" My monster pounded the wolf-like monster with her paw, and it was destroyed. "Now I end my turn." I told him.

Max drew his card, then smirked and told me, "I summon Bestial Wolf in attack mode!" A wolf appeared on his side of the field, and its eyes glowed red, it stood up on its back paws, then its torso grew until looked like a bodybuilder, its legs cracked and rearranged, its paws turned to hands with razor-sharp claws, and its fangs grew to the size of knives. It howled with its head thrown back, and its ATK showed as 3200, and its DEF was 1500. "That monster may be strong, but he's no match for my Plushy Fly Trap." I told him, and he retorted back, "Maybe not now, but once I equip him with Axe of Despair, he gains 1000 ATK." His monster's ATK shot up to 4200, and I stepped back in shock. "Now," He shouted, "WereBeast Wolfman, destroy her Plushy Fly Trap!" His Wolfman slashed through my Fly Trap, and it and all three of the Mush Plushys equipped to him were destroyed too. As my Life Points went down to 1700, he told me, "And since the number of Plushy monsters on the field decreased, so does your Patchwork Plushy's ATK!" My monster's ATK went down to 1600, and Max told me, "And now I'll end my turn." I drew a card from my deck, and saw that it was my Royal Tea Party spell card. I smiled and told him, "You're in trouble now. I activate my Royal Tea Party spell!" I inserted my card into my duel disc and it appeared on the field. Max burst out laughing and asked me, "You really think that card can save you?"

I smirked and told him, "As a matter of fact, I know it can. You see, Royal Tea Party lets me Special Summon up to three monsters with the word 'Princess' in their names from my deck to the field." I took my deck out of my duel disc and took out a card, then shuffled and replaced it. "But for what I'm planning, I only need one." I told him, and placed the card I had just gotten on my field, and my Princess of Yuki appeared with 1700 ATK and 1500 DEF. I pointed at his monster and exclaimed, "Now, Princess of Yuki, freeze his monster solid!" Princess of Yuki's staff glowed blue and she shot a beam of blue light from it, freezing WereBeast Wolfman with the Axe of Despair held in front of it. Max growled, and I said to him, "I end my turn." He drew a card and told me, "I summon Bestial Toad in defense mode." A toad appeared on his side of the field, but it soon transformed like the rest, its eyes turning red and growing to the size of a boulder. It had 1600 ATK and 600 DEF, and he told me, "I'll place one card face-down and end my turn." A face-down card appeared on his side of the field, and I drew a card of my own, and saw that it was Plushy Pig. I exclaimed to Max, "Say goodbye to Frogger, because he's getting destroyed by my Princess of Yuki! Attack with Frost Flurry!" My Princess' staff glowed blue again, and she formed a gigantic snowball at the tip and launched it at his WereBeast Toad. Before it could connect however, Max shouted out, "I activate my face-down card, Mirror Force!" His trap flipped up, and he told me, "This trap activates whenever you declare an attack, and it destroys every monster on your side of the field in attack mode!" My two monsters disappeared, and Max smirked and told me, "Top that." I looked at my cards, then said, "I summon Monster Egg in defense mode, then I'll end my turn." My monster appeared with 600 ATK and 900 DEF. Max drew a card, and exclaimed, "WereBeast Toad, destroy her pathetic Monster Egg!" His Toad's tongue shot out and squeezed my Egg until it broke into pieces, and he told me, "That ends my turn."

I drew my card and saw that it was Fissure. I smirked and told him, "I activate my Fissure magic card. This card destroys the monster on your side of the field that has the lowest ATK." His Toad let out a croak and was destroyed, and I told him, "I end my turn." Max drew a card, then smirked and placed it in his duel disc and told me, "I activate Effect Jammer, to free my WereBeast Wolfman!" The ice trapping his monster shattered, and it let out a howl and slashed its axe through the air. I stepped back in surprise, and Max told me, "Like I told you in our last duel, he can't attack this turn, so it's your move." Nervously, I looked at my Deck. 'If I get a bad draw now, I'm done for. I have to draw something good now.' I thought to myself, and drew my card. It was Negate Attack. I sighed to myself and thought, 'Well, at least I can buy myself some time.' I placed the card in my duel disc and told him, "I place one card face-down, then summon Plushy Pig in defense mode." My monster appeared on the field, a plump pink stuffed pig with button eyes, being a Light Fairy with 900 ATK and 700 DEF, and I told him, "My Piggy's not afraid of the big bad wolf, so come and get us. I end my turn." Max drew and told me, "Well he should be. Wolfman, attack!" As his monster charged towards my Buten, I exclaimed, "I activate my Trap, Negate Attack!" My card flipped up, and his monster was stopped in its tracks. Max growled and told me, "I end my turn." I took a deep breath and drew my card, and saw that it was Plushy Kitsune. I smiled and said, "I sacrifice my Buten so that I can summon my Plushy Kitsune!"

Max laughed and asked me, "And how is that going to help you?" I told him, "Simple. Plushy Kitsune's special ability lets me attach a Fox Counter to one of your monsters. As long as your monster has this counter on it, it can't attack, change its battle position, or be sacrificed to summon another monster. Also, once one monster is destroyed, both of them are." A mark that looked like a fox's face appeared on both of our monsters, and Max growled. I told him, "That ends my turn. Your move." Max drew a card, then told me, "I summon Kojikocy in attack mode!" I drew a card, and it was Plushy Knight! I smirked and told Max, "I sacrifice my Plushy Kitsune so that I can summon Plushy Knight! And when Plushy Knight is summoned using a Plushy monster as a sacrifice, he gains 600 ATK!" My monster appeared on the field, and its ATK went up to 1900, but its DEF stayed at 1100. Max's Wolfman shattered into pieces, and I pointed at him and exclaimed, "Now, Plushy Knight, attack his Kojikocy with Sewn Sword Slash!" Plushy Knight rushed towards Kojikocy and slashed it, and Max's Life Points were reduced to 3500. I told him, "Now I end my turn." Max drew a card, then exclaimed, "I summon Beaver Warrior in defense mode and end my turn!" His Beaver Warrior appeared on the field, with 1200 ATK and 1500 DEF. I drew a card of my own, and saw it was my Polymerization. I decided to save it for later, and commanded my monster, "Now, Plushy Knight, attack his Beaver Warrior! Sewn Sword Slash!"

My monster demolished his, and I told him, "Now I end my turn." Max drew a card, then said, "I summon Vorse Raider in attack mode, and even though I can't attack with it would destroy him, you still can't destroy it since it has the same ATK as your Plushy Knight." His monster appeared on the field, with 1900 ATK and 1200 DEF. "Now I end my turn." He told me, and I drew a card and saw it was Hoshiningen. I smirked and told him, "I summon my Hoshiningen in attack mode!" My monster appeared on the field, and I told him, "And thanks to Hoshiningen's special ability, all Light attribute monsters on the field gain 500 ATK, and all Dark monsters lose 400 ATK, like your Vorse Raider!" My Plushy Knight's ATK went up to 2400, and my Hoshiningen's ATK went up to 1000, with his DEF at 700. Max's Vorse Raider's ATK on the other hand, dropped to 1400. Max stepped back in fear as I exclaimed, "Now, Plushy Knight, destroy his Vorse Raider with Sewn Sword Slash!" My monster slashed Vorse Raider in half, and Max's Life Points dropped to 2500. I then said, "Now, Hoshiningen, attack his Life Points directly with Rainbow Burst!" My Hoshiningen charged up a sphere of light in-between its arms, and launched it at Max. It connected, and Max screamed as his Life Points went down to 1500. "Now I'll end my turn." I told him, and he drew a card and placed it face-down, and told me, "I set one card face-down and end my turn." I drew my own card, which was Mystical Space Typhoon. I told him, "I activate Mystical Space Typhoon, to destroy your face-down card." I slid the card into my duel disc, and it blew away his face-down, which I saw was a Negate Attack trap. I pointed at Max and exclaimed, "Now, Plushy Knight, attack his Life Points directly with Sewn Sword Slash!" Plushy Knight rushed at him and swiped at him with his sword, and Max let out a mournful howl as his Life Points dropped to zero.

Okay, there it is. I'm sorry if this chapter isn't the best, but I am typing the majority of this really late, I am going to post this now so again, if it sucks, I am sorry.


	12. Forest Quest

Hello everyone this is IndigoWerewolf with the next chapter of Duel Monsters Virtual. Now, if you read the last chapter, or any chapter with a duel in it, you saw that I did not describe the monsters, excluding ones that I invented, like the Plushys or Bestial/WereBeast monsters. This is because I do not want to overextend the duel chapters by describing every single monster, and the monsters can easily be looked up on the internet, which if you are reading this, you have. I also do not describe my own monsters more than once. This is because, again, I do not want to make the duel chapters too long. Oh, and if you spot any inconsistencies in my stories, like a spelling error or a missing question mark, let me know via review, but do not make it into a flame. With that said, let's read and I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh, and let's read!

Max fell to his knees as his cards scattered around him and his duel disc retracted back into his Band. I took my own cards out of my duel disc as it disappeared, and walked over to Max as he pounded his fist against the ground and growled out, "How could this happen again? My monsters were stronger than yours. This is impossible!" As I reached him, I told him, "Your monsters may have more ATK points than mine, but that's all they have." Max looked up at me and growled out, "And just what does that mean?" I told him, "It means your monsters have no heart." Max got up and flicked his tail angrily, then said to me, "No heart? Come on, don't tell me you actually buy all that 'Heart of the Cards' bullshit." I smiled at him, then told him, "Actually I do. More than ever lately. And it's not bullshit." Max burst out laughing, and turned to James and Jacob and told them, "Come on guys, let's get away from this nutcase." The three of them then walked into the Warp Panel and disappeared. "Hey, Kara!" A voice sounded out from behind me, and I turned to see Rhea running in my direction. When she reached me, she asked me, "Are you okay? I heard you were dueling Max, but I didn't see it. Did you win?" I smiled at her and told her, "Don't worry, I won. I'm fine." Rhea smiled at me, then got a curious look and asked me, "Hey, did you really mean what you said, you know, about the Heart of the Cards?" I smiled and told her, "Yeah, why"

Rhea rubbed the back of her head and sheepishly told me, "Well, you have to admit, it's a little far-fetched." I giggled and told her, "It's okay, I know. As a matter of fact, I didn't believe it either until about a year ago." Rhea smiled and asked, "You want to come to Card Forest with me? I was going to farm some EXP. You can tell me the story on the way." I shrugged and told her, "Okay. I was going to get some HealClover anyway." We started walking through town towards the Forest, and as we walked, I told her, "Ever since I could remember, I could feel my monster's hearts. And I tried to share my own heart with them, like Yugi Moto always says." "The King of Games?" Rhea asked, surprised. I then frowned sadly and told her, "But something strange happened. Whenever I tried to share my heart with my monsters, it was almost like they wouldn't accept it. Well, except for one that is." I pulled my Princess of Yuki out of my Deck, and Rhea took a look at it and asked me, "But didn't you lose all of your cards when you got here?" I smiled at my card and told her, "Yes, but the owner of the Card Shop found it and I bought it back from him. Out of all my monsters, this one was the only one that I could always count on. It was the only one that would accept my heart." Rhea looked at me strangely, then asked, "But how do you know that that's it? That it's their heart, or whatever?" I smiled at her, and told her, "Because of the same reason I believe in the Heart of The Cards." Rhea snorted, then asked me, "So the King of Games walked up to you one day and told you that the thing you had been feeling was their hearts?"

I smiled at her, and told her, "Actually, yes. See, it all started in an exhibition match in a tournament I had won in the real world."

*Flashback*

(Note: This duel takes place after the anime, so it's Yugi dueling and not Atem.)

Yugi Moto and Karo Akaroe were in a dueling arena, with 2000 Life Points each. Yugi has his Marshmallon and his Green Gadget on the field, along with a face-down card, and Karo had nothing, but it was his turn. Karo looked over his hand, then told Yugi, "I place Boo Koo in the field in Defense Mode, then set one card on the field face-down and end my turn." The monster appeared on the field with its book closed and a face-down appeared behind it, then Yugi drew a card, then exclaimed, "I sacrifice my Marshmallon and my Green Gadget to summon the Dark Magician in attack mode!" The Spellcaster monster appeared on the field, and Yugi threw his hand out and exclaimed, "Now, Dark Magician, destroy his Boo Koo! Dark Magic Attack!" The Dark Magician charged up his attack, but Karo told his opponent, "I don't think so. Go, Negate Attack!" The trap flipped up, and the Dark Magician stopped its attack. "Negate Attack stops one monster's attack before it happens." Karo explained, and Yugi smiled and told him, "Then I guess it's your move. I end my turn." Karo drew his card, and saw that it was his Princess of Yuki. He smiled and told Yugi, "I sacrifice my Boo Koo to summon the Princess of Yuki!" Boo Koo disappeared from the field and was replaced with the Princess. Karo continued, saying, "And she comes with a nasty Special Ability! When she's summoned to the field, I can choose one of your monsters and immobilize it, and if it's the only one on your side of the field, I can bypass it and strike your Life Points directly!"

The Princess of Yuki charged up her staff, then released a beam of blue light from it, which froze the Dark Magician solid. The crowd gasped, as now Yugi was defenseless, and Karo told Yugi, "And the best part is, I still have her attack. But before I do that, I'll equip my Princess with the Book of Secret Arts, to raise her ATK by 300!" Karo inserted the last card in his hand into his duel disc, and the book appeared in the Princess of Yuki's hand not containing the staff, and a blue glow surrounded her as her ATK went up to 2000. Karo pointed at Yugi and told his monster, "Now, Princess of Yuki, attack Yugi's Life Points directly!" The Princess charged up a gigantic snowball on the tip of her staff, then launched it at Yugi, and a cloud of snow enveloped him. When it cleared, his face-down card had been flipped up, revealing that it was Nutrient Z! Karo gasped, and Yugi said to him, "I see you recognize my Trap Card, Nutrient Z. It gives me 4000 Life Points whenever I lose 2000 or more in a single attack." His Life Points were still at 2000, the total they had been before, and Karo told the King of Games, "I end my turn." Yugi nodded and drew a card, the told Karo, "First I summon my Silent Magician in defense mode, and then I'll place one card on the field face-down and end my turn." The aforementioned monster and card appeared, and Karo drew a card and the Silent Magician leveled up. Karo looked at the card in his hand and saw that it was Mage Power! Karo smirked, then placed the card in his duel disc and told Yugi, "I equip my Princess of Yuki with Mage Power, which raises my monster's ATK by 500 for every Trap or Spell card on my side of the field, including itself!" The card appeared on the field, and the glow around Princess of Yuki intensified and her ATK went up to 3000.

Karo pointed at Silent Magician and exclaimed, "Now, Princess of Yuki, destroy Silent Magician with Blizzard Flurry!" The Princess of Yuki destroyed Yugi's Silent Magician, and Karo told him, "I end my turn." Yugi drew a card, then told Karo, "I activate my Skill Drain, which negates all the Effects of face-up Effect monsters at the cost of 1000 Life Points!" Yugi's Life Points went down to 1000, and the ice encasing his Dark Magician shattered, freeing him. Karo growled, and Yugi exclaimed, "Now I activate Bond Between Teacher and Student, to bring out my Dark Magician Girl!" His second monster appeared, and Yugi then said, "Now I activate Block Defense, to force my Dark Magician Girl into attack mode!" his Magician Girl stood up, and he slid his last card into his Duel Disk and exclaimed, "I now activate my Dark Magic Attack Spell card, to destroy every spell and trap on your side of the field!" My two spell cards were destroyed, and Karo's Princess lost her book and her glow, and Yugi then told his Dark Magician, "No, Dark Magician, attack her Princess of Yuki with Dark Magic Attack!" The Princess of Yuki was destroyed, and Yugi told Dark Magician Girl, "Now, Dark Magician Girl, attack his Life Points directly with Dark Burning Attack!" The Dark Magician Girl charged up her attack and unleashed it on Karo, who's Life Points dropped to zero.

Later, late at night, Karo was walking home with one hand holding his trophy and the other in his pocket, when he heard a voice behind him. "Hey, nice dueling in the tournament back there." Karo looked back to see Yugi, who walked up to him, and Karo smiled and told him, "Thanks. It feels kind of like a hollow victory after our match though." Yugi got an inquisitive look and told him, "Actually, that's what I wanted to talk to you about." Karo had a confused look as he asked him, "What do you mean?" Yugi pointed at my Deck and told me, "During our duel, you didn't seem to have any feeling when you summoned your monsters. You played them well, but you didn't seem to have passion when you did so." Karo sighed and told him, "Yeah, I know." Karo took out his Deck and told him, "Whenever would I see you on TV, talking about the Heart of the Cards, I would feel inspired. See, I could always feel something with my monsters, an energy sort of, and once I first saw you talk about the Heart of the Cards, I knew that that was what it was. But every time I try to share my own heart with them, it's blocked somehow, like they won't accept it. Except for one." Karo pulled out his Princess of Yuki, and Yugi observed, "The monster you last played in our duel." I smiled ruefully and told him, "Yeah. She's the only one who accepts my heart, and the only one that I can count on to bail me out when I need her. She's the reason I win all my duels. If not for her, I'd be nothing." Karo looked at his cards sadly, and then said to himself, "Maybe I should just give up on Duel Monsters." Yugi walked up closer to me and put his hand on my shoulder, and told me, "No. Karo, I may not know why your monsters won't take your heart, but I do know that you shouldn't give up. You're a good duelist." Karo looked at Yugi and told him, "Yeah, but my monsters-" Yugi interrupted Karo, telling him, "Monsters don't make a duelist. It's what you do with them that matters. If your monsters won't accept your heart, then keep trying until they do." Karo thought about it for a moment, then smiled and told Yugi, "Thanks Mr. Moto, I will. Thanks for cheering me up." Yugi nodded and told Karo, "You're welcome. And just call me Yugi." Then walked away.

*Flashback End*

We were nearing the edge of the Forest as I told Rhea, "But they never did." Rhea had a thoughtful look and said, "Wow. So you actually dueled the King of Games? And almost won?" I sweat-dropped and put my cards away, then asked her, "Did you hear anything I said after that part?" Rhea smiled awkwardly and told me, "Yeah, but you have to admit, dueling the King of Games is a lot more interesting than some getting some cryptic advice from him." I sighed, then said to her, "Well, anyway, I kept dueling after that, and even though my monsters didn't accept my heart, I never gave up trying." Rhea then got a thoughtful look on her face and asked me, "Well, can you feel your Princess' heart now? You know, since we're in the virtual world?" I nodded, and pulled out my Deck again, and told her, "Yeah, I can. And even though I haven't had them long, I can feel that my Plushies have accepted my heart too, but only the Plushys for some reason." I put away my Deck again, and, seeing Rhea's face, sighed and asked her, "You don't believe me, do you?" Rhea got a thoughtful look on her face and told me, "You know, I think I do." I looked to her in surprise, and asked her, "Really?" She nodded, and told me, "Something about the way you talk about it, it's weird, but I believe you." I smiled, and we reached the edge of the Forest.

We went into the Forest, and we walked for a while with our weapons at the ready, me gathering HealClover on the way, and flapping into and out of trees, and after a while of this, my wings had grown again so that the ends extended past the flaps of my cloak and I could actually keep myself in the air, although it was difficult and I still couldn't do it very well or for too long. After a while, I saw a plant besides the HealClover I had been gathering. I ran up to the plant, and I crouched down and observed it. It was about 11' tall, with a thin stem and large blue petals with little spiked along the edges, and had a sickly sweet scent. "That looks pretty." Rhea remarked next to me, and leaned in to smell it as I pulled up a list of herbs from my Band. I scrolled down until I found it, and told her, "I would stop smelling that if I were you." "Why?" Rhea asked, just as the flower leaned forward and snapped its petals shut on her nose, trapping it. As she struggled to escape, I giggled as I told her, "That's Snapweed. It's a plant similar to a Venus Fly Trap. It uses its sweet-smelling nectar to lure bugs in and eat them." I took out my dagger and cut it just above the bottom of the stem, and it let go of Rhea's face as it died. Rhea rubbed her nose as she remarked, "Now you tell me." I giggled and put the flower in my inventory, and Rhea asked me, "Why would you want to keep that thing?" I told her, "To sell. Apparently its nectar can be refined into a sort of monster bait." Rhea and I stood up and continued.

After a few minutes of walking, we saw an area of woods that looked like a huge animal had torn through it. "What happened here?" I asked, running my hands over a tree with huge claw marks on it. "I don't know, but I don't think we want to stick around to find out." Rhea remarked. Before we could leave however, we heard a rustling to our left, and turned to see a giant brown beast barreling towards us. We leaped out of the way as it ran past us, then wheeled around to face us and bellowed out, a health bar appearing over its head. Rhea gasped and told me, "That's Gazelle, the King of Mythical Beasts!" There was no time for further conversation however, as it pounced at me. I flapped my wings and leaped into a tree behind me, and it bellowed at me frustrated. I unsheathed my dagger as Rhea shot an arrow from her bow at it, hitting it in the shoulder and causing its Health to go down somewhat. It ran at her and she scrambled up a tree of her own, and I cursed as I realized that close combat wasn't a good idea. Gazelle started to climb, sinking its claws into the wood, and I charged up a Shadow Dart and launched it, striking it in the back and causing it to fall and run at my tree. Rhea shot an arrow at it as it reached the base, and it ran at her tree. We repeated this process for a half an hour, never letting it get too close to either of us.

Unfortunately however, Rhea ran out of arrows with Gazelle's Health Bar still at a quarter full, and I ran out of mana at the same time. As Gazelle climbed Rhea's tree, I pulled out my dagger and cursed under my breath, then launched myself out of my tree at it. I collided with the Beast Monster just as it was about to take a swipe at Rhea, and we tumbled to the ground. I leaped backwards and led it around the clearing, striking it with my dagger whenever I could. Suddenly, Gazelle pounced at me and took a swipe at me, hitting me across the chest and ripping my shirt open, cutting my chest above my breasts as well. As blood dripped from my chest, I dropped to my knees in pain. As it charged at me, I knew I wouldn't be able to dodge, and I tensed my body as it neared me, and when it pounced, I sprung forward, tackling it and driving my dagger into its neck. It roared in pain and bit down on my arm, and I hissed as it tossed its head back and forth. Quickly, I charged up a Shadow Dart in the middle finger of my other hand, channeling all my mana into the attack. I kicked it in the gut and when it roared in pain, I pointed my finger into the roof of its mouth and closed my other fingers to give it the bird as I launched my attack, sending the dark projectile through the top of its head. As its Health Bar dropped to zero, I scooted out from under it, and panted on the ground as it dissolved into EXP and was absorbed into mine and Rhea's bodies. Once it was done, I saw Rhea running towards me, and once she reached me, she cradled my arm and I hissed. Rhea winced and told me, "Sorry." She looked at my arm worriedly as I withdrew some HealClover from my Inventory. Rhea snatched it out of my hands though, and pressed it onto my arm. I hissed and told her, "You don't have to do that." Rhea gave me a worried look and told me, "Yes I do. You're hurt." I gave a pained smile as my wounds began to close, and told her, "It's not that bad. I can do it." Rhea gave me a stern look and shushed me, then said, "Don't be ridiculous, your arm is all torn up." My arm healed, and I opened and closed my hand and told her, "Not any more. I can take it from here." I turned around and took off my cloak, shirt, and bra, the latter which was stained but intact, and took out more HealClover, hissing as the flex of my arms stretched the skin on my chest. Ashley walked around and sat in front of me however, and took the HealClover from me, saying, "You're just going to hurt yourself even more. Just let me help you." I blushed and covered my arms, hissing again in pain. Letting out a resigned sigh, I lowered my arms and told her, "Okay, but make it quick."

Rhea nodded and pressed the HealClover to my chest, and I hissed as the healing goo leaked out of the plant and covered my cuts. Rhea rubbed it around my chest, and once the cuts closed, I told her, "Okay, that's good." Rhea didn't listen however, and rubbed down my chest, now openly fondling me with a dazed look on her face. Angrily, I thumped her on the forehead as hard as I could, causing her to stagger back and shout out, "What was that for?!" While holding her forehead. I retorted back, "Groping me. What the hell were you doing?" Rhea blushed as I pulled my spare shirt out of my Inventory and put it on, then pulled my cloak back on and putting the torn shirt and blood-stained bra in my Inventory. Rhea had a sheepish look on her face and told me, "Sorry. I guess I kind of got sidetracked." I humphed at her and crossed my arms, telling her, "It's okay, I guess. Come one, we should get back to town." Rhea nodded, and we both went back to Tutorial Village in silence. Once we reached the Player District, Rhea walked up to a bulletin board that I hadn't seen before. It was on the side of the road leading into the square, and Rhea looked over the papers on it, and muttered, "Damn, someone already took it." "Took what?" I asked, and Rhea told me, "This is the quest board. It has different quests on it placed by Player HQ. I was hoping to get a really good one that was on here, but you have to be level 5, so I had to get some more EXP before I could take it. Looks like someone already snatched it up, though." "So that's why you were farming EXP." I remarked, and Rhea nodded and looked over the board some more, then took down one of the quests and told me, "Hey look, it's a quest to Fiend Forest." Curiously, I asked her, "What's Fiend Forest?" She looked over the quest as she explained to me, "Fiend Forest is a dungeon area that has a lot of Dark-Attribute monsters in it. And since a lot of Dark monsters are Fiend-Types, it's called Fiend Forest." I nodded in understanding, and Rhea remarked, "Hey, the reward for this is pretty good. And it only requires you to be level three." She read more of it, then groaned and said, "Oh, it requires three people though." I looked over the paper and told her, "I'll do it with you. What's the Quest?" Rhea looked to me in surprise and asked, "Really? You would?" I nodded, and told her, "Sure, you're my friend. Why wouldn't I help you?" Rhea smiled at me gratefully, but her smile then fell and she asked, "But who's going to be the third person?" Before either of us could think of anyone however, a voice behind us offered, "I'll go with you." We both turned to see Max standing there with his arms crossed.

Angrily, I growled at him and told him, "No way." Max smirked and told me, "I heard what you two said. You need three people, and I'm the only one you guys know who's above level three." I gritted my teeth as I saw the sense in his words, and I turned to Rhea and asked her, "What do you think?" Rhea looked at Max with a look of disdain and said with a resigned tone, "Doesn't sound like we have a choice." "Great!" Max remarked, and told us while walking away, "I'll see you two here tomorrow at ten." I looked to Rhea and told her, "I should go too. I'll see you tomorrow." As I started to walk away, Rhea ran after me and told me, "Wait up!" I turned around and asked her, "What's the matter?" Rhea told me, "We should probably get some better weapons since we're going to Fiend Forest. You want to go to the Weapons Shop together." I accepted her proposition and we entered the shop, where there was a variety of weapons and a large forge in the corner. While Rhea looked over different kinds of arrows, I looked over different daggers. None of them seemed to suit me however, and eventually the shopkeeper, a man named Vince, walked up and asked me, "None of them catch your eye?" I told him, "Not really. No offense, though." Vince laughed and told me, "It's okay. You ever think of making your own?" He asked the last part as an afterthought, and I replied, "I don't know how to forge." Vince shrugged and told me, "I'll teach you. Come on." He led me to the forge, where he taught me how to purify ore, shape metal into different shapes, and make bond hilts to the metal.

When he was done with his lesson, he let me make my own Noob Dagger, which was the only thing I could make at my level. After a couple tries, I made a Superior Noob Dagger, and I paid for the materials, as well as a pattern for a better dagger that I couldn't make at my level, but resolved to later, and sold him the gold ore I had gotten from Salazar. Once I was done, I equipped it and Rhea and I left the store. As we left and walked to the Warp Panel, Rhea told me, "You're pretty good at crafting." I smiled and thanked her, then told her, "I'll see you tomorrow. Bye." I stepped onto the Warp Panel and went to my Apartment, where I stripped down to my shirt and underpants, then got into bed and went to sleep.

And the chapter is done. Let me know what you think, but again, no flames.


	13. Fiend Forest

Hello everyone this is IndigoWerewolf with the next chapter of Duel Monsters Virtual. I do not want to spoil anything right now, as usual, so let's read and I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh.

I woke up slowly, and opened my eyes to see a blurred field of violet. I brushed my hair out of my eyes and stretched my arms, then got out of bed. I checked the clock on my wall to see that it was a little past 8:00. I went into my living room and sat down at my couch. I got out the pattern for the Beanie Hat and the White Wool I had gotten to make it, along with my sewing needle. I stitched the White Wool together the way the instructions said, and after making two Average Beanies, I made a Superior one. I pulled it on, glad to have the extra Defense, however small. I then repaired my torn shirt and pulled it on, along with my black underwear and my pants. It was at that moment that I realized I never checked my cloak's Defense, and I opened my item menu to see that my shirt had a Defense of 10, my pants had 8 Defense, my hat had 6, and my cloak not only had 22, but it also would make it harder for monsters to find me in dark areas. 'Rhea was right,' I thought to myself, 'This cloak is pretty good.' I looked at the clock and saw it was 9:45, so I got dressed and went over to the Warp Panel, then went over to Tutorial Village.

I walked up to the Quest Board to see Max leaning on it, with a big two-handed sword on his back. He looked over when he saw me and raised his hand in a wave, and I asked him, "Is Rhea here yet?" He asked me sarcastically, "Do you see her here?" I sighed in annoyance and didn't respond, and saw down on the ground to wait for her. After a half an hour, she appeared on the Warp Panel and rushed over to us. Max stood up straight and, with an annoyed tone, said, "Finally. I told you to meet here at ten, what held you up?" Rhea told us, "Sorry. I overslept. You guys ready?" I nodded and stood up, and Rhea told me, "Okay, the Quest is to retrieve a necklace from the middle of the Fiend Forest. To get to there, we'll have to go through the Card Forest." We all walked through town towards Card Forest, and when we reached the edge, Rhea told us, "We should all mark the location of Fiend Forest on our maps so that we can meet up if we get separated." We all opened our maps from our Bands and marked the location of the entrance to Fiend Forest, which was at the edge of Card Forest. We walked through for about a while, fighting a few weak monsters and me picking some plants, even a new one called BuffRoot, which raises someone's strength.

After about an hour, we reached the edge of the dungeon. We didn't enter straightaway, standing there for a moment, simply taking in the difference between the forests. Beyond the point where the Card Forest turned to Fiend Forest, the trees were darker, with purplish leaves and a much thicker canopy, creating a perpetual twilight. The grass was a darker green as well, and so were the shrubs and bushes. We stood there in silence until Max remarked, "Well, I'm pretty sure this is it." I rolled my eyes at his attempt at humor, and we all plunged into the forest. The journey was uneventful for a while, and while we were walking Rhea commented, "I don't like this. It feels like the calm before the storm." I nodded and remarked, "I know. I keep thinking some huge monster is going to come out and jump us." Max snorted and told us, "You're both paranoid." Not a moment after he had said that, we heard a screech from above us, and we all looked up to see a huge anthropomorphic bird with a big yellow beak, orange skin, green talons, and a long, slender tail. "A Whiptail Crow!" Rhea exclaimed, and I turned to Max and asked him, "Still think we're paranoid?" Before he could answer, the Crow dived at us and we scattered. It hit the ground hard and screeched again, as an arrow from Rhea's bow hit it in the shoulder, and a health bar appeared and went down a bit.

Max drew his greatsword and charged it, but the Fiend-Type launched itself into the air before he reached it. Growling, Max put his sword back on his back and picked some rocks up off the ground, throwing them at our foe. I tensed my legs and took flight into the air, drawing my dagger as I did so. I ascended slowly after the monster, and fired off a Shadow Dart to get its attention. It screeched as it connected, and I hovered in place, holding my dagger in a reverse grip. It flew at me, and I dodged in midair and struck it as it passed. Its health bar went down to eighty percent, and it wheeled around to face me. It screeched and flew at me again, and I cursed as I realized the tactic that defeated the Kairyu-Shin wouldn't help with this creature. I sheathed my dagger and charged up a Shadow Dart in each of my pointer fingers, and dodged and launched them as it passed. Its health bar went down as they connected, and I staggered as a rock hit me in the ear. "Ow!" I cried out, and glared down at Max. "Sorry!" He shouted up, but I didn't have time to be angry at him as the Whiptail Crow charged me again. I moved out of the way and charged up Shadow Darts in my pointer, middle, and ring fingers. I let them build up for a second, then as it turned to face me, I let them fly. They all connected, and it screeched as its health bar went down to less than half. It charged me, and I drew my dagger and as it neared me, I lashed out at its wing, cutting through to the bone and causing it to drop from the sky. I tucked my wings in and dove after it. I raised my dagger in both hands above my head, and as we both hit the ground, I drove it in as hard as I could through its head, and it let out a death screech as its health bar depleted to zero. I jumped off as it started to dissolve, the majority absorbing into me, but a bit going into Rhea, with Max receiving none.

I picked up my dagger and sheathed it, and Max asked us, "Hey, why didn't I get any experience? I fought that thing, too." I curtly told him, "No, you hit me in the ear with a rock. Now shut up before I kick you in the balls again." Max held up his hands in a surrender and backed off, and I saw that I had leveled up. I chose the Shadow Palm ability, which is a pulse of shadow that's charged in the palm of the hand and released with your hand pressed against an enemy. Rhea remarked, "Wow, Kara, look at your wings." I turned my head to see that my wings had grown more, to the point where they were as long as my arms. "You look kind of like Dark Pit from Kid Icarus." She told me, and I smiled at the analogy. Rhea then retrieved her arrow and we set off. After another half hour of walking, we reached a clearing with an altar made from black stone in the middle. "This is the place." Rhea told us, looking at her map, then told us, "Be careful. There's supposed to be a boss here." We reached the altar, and we all looked down at the necklace. It had a thin string with red pearls, and the charm was a smooth diamond-shaped purple gemstone that was separated into three parts, the two on the bottom being smaller than the one on top. It was on a gold setting with two spiraled points on the sides, with two more below them, making it look vaguely like a scarab beetle with a purple shell and curved back legs. Max picked it up, and we both turned to him and Rhea exclaimed, "Max!" He turned to her and said, "What? We can't complete the quest by staring at the thing." She told him, "I just said there was a boss! Think before you pick up the thing that'll probably bring it running!" Max rolled his eyes and asked us, "Well if there's a boss, then why hasn't it shown up yet?"

Not a moment after he had finished, the altar started shaking. We backed up as it rumbled violently and broke apart, releasing a black mist that rose in the air and coalesced into a form I knew all too well.

*KaibaCorp HQ*

Seto Kaiba was sitting in his chair speaking with Noah, who told him, "It would appear that Kara Akaroe, Rhea Arashi, and Max Yusai have all taken a group quest to Fiend Forest and are currently in combat with a Whiptail Crow." Kaiba asked him, "What's the quest?" Noah looked over something on his computer and told Seto, "It's to retrieve a necklace from the Black Altar in the center of Fiend Forest." Kaiba nodded, and asked him, "And the boss?" Noah looked over his computer again and told him, "It would appear that it's the Three-Headed Geedo." Kaiba narrowed his eyes, then began typing, telling Noah, "That thing's hardly a challenge. Let's see how Kara and her little friends fare against a real boss." Seeing what he was doing, Noah told his step-brother, "Seto, you can't keep interfering. She has to become a Player by herself." Seto continued typing, while telling the green-haired boy, "She's faced tougher monsters alone, she can defeat this one with help." He finished, and Noah told him, "That may be so, but you can't keep interfering with her. She needs to learn how to be a Player without your meddling." Seto closed his eyes for a moment and thought, then sighed and told his step-brother, "I guess you're right. I'll butt out for now." Noah nodded, then told Seto, "I'll let you know how it turns out. Talk to you later." The video call ended, and Kaiba sat back in his chair and looked at his screen, thinking to himself, 'Well Kara, it's your move. Show me that you have the skills to be a Player.'

*Fiend Forest*

The mist coalesced into a vaguely human form, then cleared to reveal a dark figure in a voluminous robe. It had no face, only glowing green eyes and an ovoid mouth also glowing green, with leathery brown hands emerging from the sleeves holding a wicked-looking scythe in both its hands, and it had seven cards facing away from us on a cord around its neck. No less than three health bars appeared above its head, and a ring of energy encircled the clearing. It lout out a ghostly wail, and I whispered to myself, "The Reaper of the Cards." It swung its scythe at us, and a wave of darkness shot at us. We all jumped back, and Max tucked the necklace into his pocket, then pulled a card from his Deck and told us, "I got this." He held the card up, and said, "I summon WereBeast Wolfman!" His card glowed, and a ball of light emerged from it and formed into his monster. It howled, and I remembered for the first time that you can summon monsters to battle in dungeon areas. I drew a card of my own, then held it up and exclaimed, "I summon the Princess of Yuki!" My princess appeared and brandished her staff at the Reaper. Rhea's hand went to her belt, but she didn't draw any cards, then she gasped and exclaimed, "I forgot my Deck!" I looked back at her and told her, "It's okay, we'll distract it. Just get to the edge of the clearing and snipe at it." Rhea nodded, then ran back to the edge of the clearing.

My Princess charged up an attack in her staff, then unleashed it at the Reaper, and Max's Wolfman howled, using a sonic attack. Both attacks took up one of the Reaper's Health Bars, but then they disappeared. I looked at the Princess' card and it was dark. Seeing my surprised, Max told me, "You can only attack with a monster in a dungeon once. You have to go back to a town or village if you want to use it again." I nodded, then put my card back. Max did the same and we both charged it. We dodged another wave of shadow and I flew at it, striking it with my dagger and dodging a swing from its scythe. Max swung his sword at it, but it was intercepted by the Reaper and he was flung onto the altar, where he lay unconscious. The Reaper advanced on him, but was interrupted by an arrow from Rhea. It struck his cloak and his health bar went down a tiny bit, then it let out a wail and struck the ground with his scythe, releasing a wave of darkness that traveled over the ground and struck Rhea, who slammed against the barrier and was knocked out cold. It floated toward her eerily, but before it reached her I launched a Shadow Dart at it.

It turned to face me, then held out its hand and shot a beam of darkness at me. I dodged as it carved a trench in the earth behind me, then flew at it and launched a Shadow Dart. It struck the Reaper, who's Health went down some more. We started an aerial dogfight, weaving and dodging each other's attacks, while I slowly whittled down its Health. Once its Health was down to almost nothing, I flew up high, intending to dive-bomb it, when it shot my dagger from my hand. Cursing, I tucked in my wings and flew down to the ground. I tried to retrieve my weapon, but it shot it over the barrier before I reached it. Letting out a frustrated growl, I charged it, running towards it while charging all my remaining mana into my hand for a Shadow Palm. It swung its scythe, but I launched a small Shadow Dart and knocked it out of its hands. I got close and jumped up in the air, flapping my wings for extra boost, and reared my arm back to strike, shadows coiling through my fingers. Suddenly, the world seemed to be going in slow-motion, and I heard a deep, echoing voice in my mind. "Well well, it looks like you've beaten me." It said, and I replied mentally, "Who are you?" The voice chuckled and told me, "Why dear, you're looking at me." My eyes slowly widened and I asked in my head, "Reaper?" It told me, "Yes, young one. I must say, I'm surprised you were able to best me, especially considering your friends are incapacitated. Usually it takes a team of three to defeat me, and even then they're not typically successful, even with a handicap like losing two health bars straightaway." I asked him, "Why are you telling me this? You can't have slowed time down just to congratulate me." The Reaper chuckled, then told me, "You're perceptive. I like that. Listen to me child, and listen well. What you feel with your monsters is not something to be ignored. You were meant to hold these cards." I was baffled and asked him, "But they're just data. How could I be destined to hold them?" The Reaper told me, "This world may be digital, but the magic that infuses the cards in the real world is present here, as well. These cards chose you, and more will do so before your journey is complete, myself being one." I asked him, "You want to be in my Deck?"  
The Reaper told me, "In this form, no. But I will be with you. Just remember, darkness hides evil, it doesn't spawn it." Before I could ask what he meant, time sped up again, and my palm slammed into its cloak where its heart would be, and I released my attack, a ring of shadow radiating from the point of impact. It wailed as its health bar went down to zero, and I jumped back as it dissolved, and the barrier around the clearing disappeared. Once all of the EXP was absorbed, I noticed a card appear in the center and drop to the ground, and I walked over and picked it up.

On the card was a picture of a stuffed Reaper, only it was smaller, with a bigger head and a cartoon-ish looking mask and a single card around its neck. "Plushy Reaper." I read off the top, and I quickly put it in my Deck as Rhea began to stir. I rushed over to her as she woke up, and she opened her eyes and groaned, then asked me, "What happened?" I smiled at her and told her, "The Reaper knocked you out." Rhea sat up, then hissed and clutched her head, then asked me, "Oh yeah. Did you get it?" I nodded, and Rhea smiled at me, then got a sheepish look on her face and told me, "Hey listen. I'm sorry about what happened in the forest yesterday." I smiled at her and told her, "Don't worry about it. It's fine." Rhea shook her head, then hissed and told me, "No it isn't. You saved me from Gazelle, and then I tried to cop a feel off of you. And then despite that, you helped me with the quest, and saved me again." I smiled at her and told her, "I did that because we're friends. I'm not so petty that I would let you go into a dangerous dungeon without me over one little thing." Rhea nodded, then told me, "Well, I'm still sorry." I nodded and told her, "Apology accepted." I got up, then helped her to her feet and said to her, "Come on, let's wake up Max." We went over to the altar, where Rhea picked up a stick and started poking Max with it, telling him, "Get up, idiot." Max groaned in his unconscious state, and I kicked him in the ribs lightly. He sat up, groaning, and muttered, "Shit, my back hurts." He stood up slowly and cracked his back, then looked around and asked, "Hey, what happened to the Card Reaper?" Rhea told him, "Kara took care of it. Do you still have the necklace?" He pulled it out of his pocket and told us, "Right here." Rhea nodded, then told him, "Then let's get the heck out of here."

We all murmured in agreement and set off for Tutorial Village. Once we got there, I asked Rhea, "So, who do we give the necklace to?" Rhea told me, "We just have go to the Inn and turn it in to the Quest Counter." I nodded, and we all walked into the Inn. We approached a counter with a sign that said, "Quest Counter." We walked up, and the man standing at the counter asked us, "You three have a quest to turn in?" Rhea nodded, then handed him the sheet with the Quest information. He looked it over and told us, "Okay, I just need the necklace and I can give you three your reward." Max handed him the necklace we had gotten in Fiend Forest, and the man nodded. He held it in his hand for a moment, then it glowed and changed into three identical Spell cards. He handed one to each of us, and on it was a picture of the same necklace that we had retrieved. Something clicked in my head, and I said, "I thought that necklace looked familiar. It's the Black Pendant." The man nodded, then pulled a bag of Coins from underneath the counter and told us, "And here's the monetary reward." We thanked him and put the cards in our respective Decks, then left. Max carried the bag, and when we were in the Player district, he told us, "Okay, both of you grab the bag." Mystified, I asked him, "Why?" Max rolled his eyes and told me, "Just do it." I shrugged and took hold of it, and Rhea did the same, and Max told us, "Okay, now on three, pull. One, two, three!" We all pulled the bag towards us, and it split into three smaller bags. "Each of the bags has a third of the Coins that was in the old bag." He told us, and I remarked, "Well, that's convenient." Max nodded, and once we had all put our Coins in our Inventories, told us, "Well, I'm going to bed. See you two later." He went into the Warp Panel and disappeared, and Rhea went to do the same, but turned back and asked me, "Aren't you going to your Apartment? It's getting kind of late." I smiled at her and told her, "You go ahead. I've got something I need to do." Rhea nodded and told me, "See you tomorrow." And disappeared into the Warp Panel.

I pulled out my new Plushy Reaper and thought to myself, 'So it wasn't coincidence that I found the Plushy cards.' I tightened my grip on it, then put it back in my Deck and continued my thoughts, 'If that's true, then I think it's time to build a real Plushy Deck.' I then walked into the Card Shop.

*Time Skip*

I walked out of the Card Shop with some new Plushy cards in my Deck, most of my non-Plushys having been sold to Horace, and went through the Warp Panel into my Apartment. I disrobed, then got into bed tired, and went to sleep.

Finally, some plot. I know that's what you were thinking, and I agree. I am sorry about not updating sooner, but I was busy. I do not own Kid Icarus, until next time!


	14. Shining Light, Enveloping Shadows

Hello everyone this is IndigoWerewolf with the next chapter of Duel Monsters Virtual. Now, before this story starts I just want to say that I am currently watching Yu-Gi-Oh GX, so any Yu-Gi-Oh lore after that I do not know. I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh, and let's read!

I opened my eyes to see a landscape of nothing but white, as far as I could see. I got up slowly, looking around to try and see if there was anyone else around. "Hello?" I asked the expanse of white, my voice echoing around me. "Is anyone here?" I asked, and a soft female voice behind me told me, "Yes, there is." I turned around to see the Princess of Yuki, in the flesh. My eyes widened as I whispered to myself, "Princess?" She giggled and told me, "Yes Kara, it's me." I asked her, "Where are we?" In response, Yuki told me, "We are in your heart." In confusion, I asked her, "My heart? What do you mean?" Yuki explained to me, "I told you long ago Kara, your heart is the source of the energy you feel with your monsters, and where you can find the ones you've shared with it." I nodded, then remarked, "Oh yeah, I remember now."

*Flashback*

A young Karo stood in a field of white in his pajamas, frantically looking around. "Where am I?" He asked, and Yuki's voice told him, "We're in your heart." He turned to face her, and asked her, "Princess of Yuki? Is that you?" She smiled and told him, "It is Karo. I brought you here to speak with you." In confusion, Karo asked her, "What for?" Yuki kneeled down and put her hands on his shoulders, then told him, "You have turned bitter towards your monsters lately Karo, you've been dueling with nothing but anger in your heart, and I brought you here to tell you that this must stop." Young Karo got an angry look on his face, then told Yuki, "It's their fault. They don't want to accept my heart. You're the only one that will. Why are you defending them?" He asked the last question with tears in his eyes, and Yuki wiped them away and told him, "It's true, your monsters will not accept your heart, and I may not know why, but I beg of you, do not resent them for it. It will only make you miserable." Suddenly, the ghostly forms of monsters appeared around them, circling them in a tornado of spirits. Among them, he saw Hane-Hane, Boo Koo, and Happy Lover. Karo looked at them in fear, and his ears picked up the words, "Unworthy", and "Not ours". Yuki told him, "Do not worry, they cannot harm you." With tears in his eyes, Karo asked her, "Why are they doing this?" Yuki sighed and told Karo, "I don't know, but if you continue to duel like you have been, and resent your monsters, you will only hurt yourself. Please, for your own sake, you must stop." After a moment of thought, Karo wiped his eyes and told Yuki, "I will Princess, thank you." Yuki smiled and hugged him as he faded away.

*Flashback Over*

I looked at the Princess of Yuki and asked her, "Why have you brought me here this time, though?" Yuki smiled and told me, "To show you something." She raised her staff, and it glowed and the landscape changed. Instead of being an endless field of white, they were now in the main courtyard of a huge pink castle made of cloth, with purple roofs. The ground was firm, but springy, like a mattress. "It's my Plushy Castle." I said to myself. Plushy monsters that I recognized from my Deck were all around, wrestling, sleeping, chasing each other, and generally having fun. Suddenly, I was lifted up and spun around by something, and once it had stopped I saw that I had been lifted up by my Lollipop Princess. She hugged me closer, and I hugged her back and laughed as I said, "Nice to see you too." Jelly Bean Man and Woman floated over, and as Lollipop Princess put me down, I asked Yuki, "This is great and all, but why did you want to show it to me?" She had a sad look on her face as she told me, "This is not what I wanted to show you. Follow me." She floated towards a corner of the courtyard, and Lollipop Princess and the two Jelly Bean monsters followed me. We came to a corner where none of the other monsters were, and sitting there was the ghostly form of a monster that I recognized as Hoshiningen. Unlike the last time, it didn't seem violent or malicious. Instead, it was just sitting there looking forlorn.

I turned to Princess of Yuki and asked her, "Why is Hoshiningen still here? I got rid of it." She told me, "Yes you did, but during your duel with Max it had started to accept your heart. It is still here in spirit, but since you no longer hold its card, it is not truly here." She looked down at me and continued, telling me, "You still harbor a fear of monsters rejecting your heart, so once you felt it do so, you immediately withdrew it, and then sent Hoshiningen away. I brought you here to tell you that you must be patient. There are still monsters in the world that you are destined to meet, and when you do they may not accept your heart right away, and if they don't, you can't push them away in fear of their rejection." I felt a deep sadness, and tears threatened to spill from my eyes as I whispered, "You're right. If I push my monsters away when they reject my heart, I didn't learn anything from our first encounter." I kneeled down and wrapped my arms around Hoshiningen, and told it, "Don't worry, I'll get you back." It smiled at me, and I smiled back as I faded away and woke up, sitting up straight in my bed.

I got out of bed and took a shower, then showered, got dressed, and brushed my teeth, then I felt a rumble in my stomach. I blushed as I thought to myself, 'I guess I do need to eat in this world.' I opened the fridge in my kitchen to see it had some cheese, jelly, a jar of mayonnaise, and some oranges and apples. I pulled out the cheese and mayo and got some bread out of a breadbox on the counter, and a butter knife from a drawer, then made a cheese sandwich, then ate it along with an orange. I put a few apples in my Inventory and went through the Warp Panel to Tutorial Village, and walked into the Card Shop.

I walked out a few minutes later, feeling crestfallen. Horace had told me he had sold the Hoshiningen I had given him to someone earlier this morning, and he hadn't gotten his name. A voice ahead of me snapped me out of my funk, "Kara!" I looked up to see Rhea walking towards me with a smile on her face, and I smiled back at her. When she reached me, she told me, "Hey Kara, Max was looking for you earlier." In confusion, I asked her, "Max? What for?" Rhea shrugged and told me, "No idea, but he said he was waiting for you by the Quest Board." I sighed and told her, "Might as well go see what he wants, then." We walked over to the Quest Board to see Max pacing in front of it, with an impatient look on his face. When he saw me, he walked up and told me, "There you are. Come with me." He started to walk towards the Card Forest, but I didn't follow, and asked him, "Why?" He looked back, then told me, "Just come on." Rhea and I looked at each other and shrugged, then followed Max into the Forest. After about ten minutes of walking, we came across a clearing with a man standing in the center. He was bald, about twenty, with ice-blue eyes and white robes with gold trim on the hems and a gold Player band. He also had a wooden staff on his back and a gold headband. Max walked up to him and said to him, "Alright Solomon, I brought her like you asked. Now give me what you promised." The man nodded, then rummaged around in his robe and withdrew a pouch presumably filled with Coins, with a card tied to it.

The man, now known as Solomon, then turned to me, and pointed at me and with a deep voice, told me, "Kara Akaroe, I wish to duel you!" My eyes widened in surprise, and asked him, "Duel me? Why?" He told me, "It is simple, I am a being of Light, you are a being of Darkness, we are natural enemies, and as such are destined to do battle!" Rhea groaned and face-palmed, and said, to no one in particular, "Not this guy." I turned to her and asked, "Do you know him?" She turned to me and said, "Not personally, but I have heard about him. Apparently he's named Solomon Baker, and he duels every Dark-Attribute Player that comes into the virtual world, and if they lose, he takes cards from their Deck." "That is correct!" Solomon exclaimed, and I turned to him and he told me, "I have heard of you and your Plushy monsters, and I cannot abide beings of such light and purity being in the deck of an emissary of evil. Therefore, when you lose, I shall claim them for my own!" I asked him, "And just what makes you think I'm evil?" He scoffed, then told me, "Beings of shadow are inherently wicked, it is the way of life. Now duel me!" I pinched the bridge of my nose, then sighed and asked him, "Okay, if you win you'll take my Plushys, but what if I win, what will you do?" He told me, "Such a thing will never come to pass, but if it will appease you, you may take any number of cards from my deck if you are the victor." I nodded, and told him, "Alright then, let's duel!" And materialized my duel disc. Sol nodded and did the same, his being the same shape as mine, but colored white and gold instead of black and purple. Rhea grabbed my arm and told me, "Kara, don't duel him. He's really good, and if you lose he'll take your Plushys. That's practically your entire Deck!" I faced Rhea and said to her, "Rhea, he's obviously not going to leave me alone until I duel him, so I might as well do it now and get it over with. Besides, I don't plan on losing." I faced Sol again and put my Deck into my duel disc, then he did the same and we simultaneously exclaimed, "Let's Duel!"

And that's the chapter. I'm sorry about ending it so short but it would be too long with the duel so it's next chapter. Until next time!


	15. Light vs Dark

Hello everyone this is IndigoWerewolf with the next chapter of Duel Monsters Virtual. This chapter will contain the duel between Kara and Solomon, as promised, but I don't want to spoil anything so let's read! I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh.

*KaibaCorp Main Office*

Seto Kaiba was scanning his computer when his little brother Mokuba walked in. "Seto," He told his older brother, "It's late. You said you wouldn't interfere with that Kara girl anymore." Seto looked up at his brother and then went back to his computer, then told the younger Kaiba, "I'm not interfering Mokuba, I'm investigating." Mokuba walked around the desk to look at the computer and asked his brother, "Investigating what?" Seto explained to him, "Kara Akaroe recently obtained a new monster from the Reaper of the Cards I put in the quest in Fiend Forest, called the Plushy Reaper." In confusion, Mokuba asked him, "So?" Seto looked to his brother and told him, "So, the monster in question wasn't in the card database." Realizing what this meant, Mokuba asked Seto, "So she's got an unregistered card?" Seto told him, "No Mokuba, she's got a card that wasn't registered until she got it. It showed up right afterwards, but before then there was no record of it ever existing." Mokuba had a thoughtful look as he asked, "So where did it come from?" Seto continued to scan the picture of the Plushy Reaper on his computer as he told his brother, "That's what I'm trying to find out. The odd thing is, this card was created the exact moment the Reaper of the Cards was destroyed. That can't be a coincidence." He muttered the last part under his breath.

Mokuba hummed thoughtfully, then told him, "Well, maybe the Reaper of the Cards created it." Seto looked to his brother and asked him, "What are you talking about Mokuba? It's just an enemy monster, it can't do something like that." Mokuba said to him, "Well, you said yourself that it's not a coincidence that the Plushy Reaper was created just as the Card Reaper was destroyed. What if it reconfigured itself into a different monster so that it wouldn't be deleted?" Seto asked him, "Even if it had the ability to do something like that, what makes you think it has the thought capacity necessary? We don't program these things with self-preservation instincts." Mokuba explained to him, "These kinds of things have happened before Seto. Remember the time that a Giant Orc started picking flowers and handing them out to Players?" Seto sighed and told his brother, "I'd rather not. That wasn't exactly our proudest moment if you can't remember." Mokuba told his brother, "And that monster didn't have any glitches or bugs. Its programming to attack Players wasn't damaged or missing. It just wasn't following it." Seto looked to his brother and asked him, "Mokuba, where are you going with this?" Mokuba told his brother, "Where I'm going is that some monsters in the virtual world are alive. It happens in the real world, why not there?" Seto scoffed and asked him in a disbelieving tone, "So you think that the Reaper of the Cards decided on its own to turn into a card?" Mokuba asked his brother in a similar tone, "So you thing that the Reaper of the Cards was just destroyed and that a new monster just happened to drop from it that was never registered before and just happened to be of the archetype of the monsters that makes up the majority of the Player who destroyed it, and that that monster just happens to look almost exactly like the monster that dropped it?" Seto opened his mouth to make a reply, but then closed it and got a thoughtful look, then told his brother, "You actually make a pretty good point." Mokuba nodded, then told him, "Go to bed Seto, you need to get some sleep." The older Kaiba shook his head and told his younger sibling, "I have to investigate this further." He went to type on his computer, but before he could, Mokuba closed it and told him, "You can do that in the morning, for now you need to get some sleep." Seto sighed and stood up, then told Mokuba, "I guess you're right." They both then walked out of the room.

*Card Forest*

Rhea and Max stood off to the side as we both drew five cards from our Decks. I looked at mine and saw they were Plushy Castle, Patchwork Plushy, Plushy Button Soldier, Vengeance of Forgotten Toys, and Plushy Conversion. I looked up to see Solomon tell me, "I shall go first." He then drew a card, then placed a monster on his disc and told me, "I summon Hoshiningen in attack mode!" His Hoshiningen appeared on the field, and he then told me, "I place two cards on the field face down and end my turn." Two face-down card appeared behind Hoshiningen and he told me, "And thanks to Hoshiningen's Special Ability, all Light Monsters on the field gain 500 ATK, and all Dark monsters lose 400 ATK." As he said it, his monster's ATK went from 500 to 1000. I gritted my teeth as the sight of his monster opened up a fresh wound, and I drew a card and saw that it was the Gemini Elf I had won from Max. I put it in my hand with the rest of my cards, then told him, "I summon Patchwork Plushy in attack mode!" I placed the monster on my duel disc, and it appeared on the field, and then I told him, "And since your Hoshiningen's effect works on both of our monsters, she has 2100 ATK, which means that she has more than enough muscle to destroy your Hoshiningen!" I then pointed at said monster and exclaimed, "Now Patchwork Plushy, destroy his Hoshiningen with Plushy Paw Pummel!" My monster rushed towards his, but before it was destroyed, Solomon exclaimed, "I activate my face-down card, Waboku!" His card flipped up, and three people in blue robes appeared in front of it.

A barrier encircled Solomon, and his Hoshiningen glowed with an inner light. My monster struck his, but Hoshiningen wasn't destroyed, and Solomon told me, "Thanks to Waboku, my monsters can't be destroyed in battle this turn, and even though it was in attack mode, I don't lose any Life Points!" I growled, then placed Vengeance of Forgotten toys in my spell and trap card zone and told him, "I place one card face-down and end my turn." Solomon nodded, then drew a card, then told me, "I summon Shining Angel in defense mode." His monster appeared, with 800 DEF, and he told me, "I end my turn." I drew a card, and saw it was Plushy Wish. I placed it in my hand, then thought to myself, 'Why didn't he put his Hoshiningen in defense mode? My monster has way more ATK points than his.' My eyes widened as I thought, 'Unless it's a trap. He probably wants me to attack, and then he'll spring his other face-down card.' I continued as I looked at my cards, 'I can't risk it.' I then placed Plushy Button Soldier on my duel disc and told him, "I summon Plushy Button Soldier in defense mode." My monster appeared on the field crouched down on one knee. It was a Light Fairy and looked like Plushy Soldier, but instead of a sword it had a huge button sewn to its arm like a shield. Its ATK went from 500 to 1000, but its DEF stayed at 1600. I told Solomon, "And since there's one Plushy monster on the field, my Patchwork Plushy gains 300 ATK points!" My monster's ATK went from 2100 to 2700, and I told her, "Now Patchwork Plushy, destroy Shining Angel!" My monster rushed forward and slammed her paw down on Shining Angel, who burst into pieces.

Solomon told me, "Thank you. Since Shining Angel was destroyed in battle and sent to the Graveyard, I can summon another Light monster to the field with less than 1500 ATK. And I choose the Forgiving Maiden!" His monster appeared on the field in defense mode, and its ATK went from 850 to 1350, but its DEF stayed at 2000. I told him, "I place one card on the field face down and end my turn." Then placed Plushy Wish in my spell card zone. Solomon nodded and drew a card, then told me, "I activate Polymerization, to fuse The Forgiving Maiden with-" I interrupted him, saying, "Let me guess, Marie the Fallen One. That way you can put her in your Graveyard, where she'll give you 200 Life Points each standby phase, and you can summon St Joan." Solomon let out a roaring laugh, and I asked him, "What's so funny?" Solomon stopped laughing and told me, "The fact that you think I would allow that monster into my Deck." In confusion, I asked him, "What do you mean?" Solomon held up his duel disc so that his deck was facing me and explained, "My deck is a place of light and purity, and I would never allow a monster that is not of the Light Attribute into it, let alone one of Darkness." I asked him, "But if Marie the Fallen One's not in your Deck, how can you fuse her with your Forgiving Maiden?" He showed me a card and told me, "I don't intend to. I'm fusing my Forgiving Maiden with my Light Hex Sealed Fusion!" The monster in question appeared on the field, and he told me, "Thanks to my monster's special ability, I can substitute it for a fusion material monster, so I can summon St Joan without Marie the Fallen One!" He held up his hand and exclaimed, "Now, Forgiving Maiden, fuse with Light Hex Sealed Fusion to create St Joan! And I'll equip her with the Horn of the Unicorn!" His monsters swirled together, and St Joan appeared on the field with a unicorn's horn in her hand instead of a sword. Her ATK went from 2800 to 3900, and he me, "And now I end my turn!" I nodded and drew a card, to see it was Plushy Ranger. I placed it on the field and told Solomon, "I summon Plushy Ranger to the field in attack mode!" My monster appeared next to Patchwork Plushy. It was a Light Fairy with 1200 ATK, which went up to 1700, and 1100 DEF. It looked like Plushy Soldier, but it had a bow and arrow instead of a sword.

"And since there's another Plushy on the field, my Patchwork Plushy gains 300 ATK points!" I told him, and my Patchwork Plushys ATK went up to 2700 to 3000, and I then put Plushy Castle into my field spell slot, and told him, "Now I'll activate Plushy Castle. This field spell gives every Plushy monster 200 ATK and DEF points." The castle appeared around us as it had been in my heart, and my monsters ATK went up to 3100 and 1900 respectively, and Max asked, "Hey wait a minute, how come we're in the castle? I thought it appeared behind you?" I looked to him and said, "Because there was already a field spell in play. If there isn't one, this is the form it takes, and it also has different abilities." I told Solomon, "Like the one I'm going to activate now. You see, once per duel I can summon a Plushy monster from my Deck, as long as I discard a card from my hand first." I slid Gemini Elf into my Graveyard, then took out my Deck and looked through it, then took out a card and reshuffled and replaced it. I placed it on my duel disc and told Solomon, "Say hello to Plushy Kitsune!" My monster appeared on the field and its ATK went up from 1500 to 2000, and I told him, "And with one more Plushy, Patchwork Plushys ATK goes up!" Patchwork Plushys ATK went up from 3100 to 3400. "It still cannot compare to my St Joan." Solomon told me, and I smirked and told him, "Maybe not, but Plushy Kitsune has a special ability. See, he can place a Fox Counter on one of your monsters, and then neither of our monsters can attack or change battle position. Also, once one of them are destroyed, both are."

An emblem in the shape of a fox's head appeared on both of our monster's foreheads, and I pointed to Hoshiningen and exclaimed, "Now, Patchwork Plushy, destroy his Hoshiningen!" Patchwork Plushy rushed at his monster and slammed its paw down on it, and it was destroyed, and Solomon's Life Points went down to 1600. As soon as Hoshiningen was destroyed however, Solomon exclaimed, "I activate my other face-down card, Renewed Illumination! When a Light monster on my side of the field is destroyed, I can bring it back once in defense mode!" His trap flipped up, showing two Happy Lovers side by side, one gray and one glowing. Hoshiningen came back to the field with its arms wrapped around itself, and the trap shattered. I told him, "Well, you're still not out of the woods. Thanks to Plushy Ranger's special ability, I can deal a direct attack to your Life Points equal to half of his ATK points." Plushy Ranger drew his bow back and a glowing arrow appeared in it. He let it fly and it struck Solomon, lowering his Life Points to 650. He cringed as the projectile struck him, and I told him, "Now I'll end my turn." Solomon drew a card and told me, "First I switch Hoshiningen into attack mode, then I sacrifice St Joan so that I can summon Airknight Parshath in attack mode!" St Joan disappeared and Airknight Parshath took its place, and my Plushy Kitsune disappeared as well, lowering Patchwork Plushys ATK went down from 3400 to 3100. Hoshiningen's arms unwrapped from its body, and meanwhile, his Airknight's ATK went up from 1900 to 2400. Solomon pointed at Plushy Button Soldier and exclaimed, "Now, Airknight Parshath, destroy Plushy Button Soldier with Heavenly Strike!" His knight rushed forward and swiped at my Button Soldier, destroying it, lowering my Patchwork Plushys ATK down from 3100 to 2800. As his Airknight went back to its original place, Solomon told me, "And thanks to his special ability, the difference between his ATK points and your monsters DEF points come out of your Life Points." My Life Points went to 3200, and Solomon told me, "And thanks to his other special ability, I can draw one card once Airknight Parshath deals damage to your Life Points." He drew a card, and then I exclaimed, "I activate my Vengeance of Forgotten Toys!" My trap flipped up. It had various Plushys looming menacingly over a human silhouette on it. I told Solomon, "This trap activates when a Plushy monster on my side of the field is destroyed, and if I have a monster in my graveyard that has an original ATK greater than or equal to the monster that destroyed it, I can summon it to the field. Then it and the monster that destroyed mine are forced to do battle, then my monster goes back to the graveyard." Solomon laughed and told me, "But you have no monsters with and ATK that even comes close to my Airknight's." I smirked and asked him, "Oh no?" He looked surprised, and I exclaimed, "I summon Gemini Elf from my graveyard!" My Gemini Elf appeared, and Solomon stepped back in surprise and asked, "When did that monster go to your grave?" I smiled and told him, "When I summoned Plushy Kitsune. I had to discard a card from my hand, remember?" Without waiting for his response, I told him, "And thanks to the effect of my Vengeance of Fallen Toys, your monster's ATK goes back to what it originally was!" His Airknight's ATK went down to 1900, and the two monsters attacked each other, and were both destroyed. "And now I end my turn."

Solomon scoffed and told me, "I should have expected as much from a being of Darkness." I asked him in response, "And just what does that mean?" He told me, "You sacrifice your monsters recklessly, with such disrespect it makes me sick! You have only proved me right in this duel, in that you are evil!" I absorbed his words with a sense of dread, remembering how I had discarded Gemini Elf without a second thought, and how I had brought Plushy Kitsune out, only to have it be destroyed by an effect that I had activated. 'What if he's right? What if I am evil like he said? After all, it's not just this duel. I threw away almost all of my non-Plushy monsters, just because I was afraid of them rejecting me.' Seeing my troubles, Rhea told me, "Kara, you can't listen to this guy!" I turned to her, tears threatening to spring from my eyes, and I asked her, "But what if he's right?" Rhea told me, "You're not evil Kara, if you were you wouldn't have saved us in Fiend Forest. If you were evil, you wouldn't have gone on that request for Harold Pye, and you definitely wouldn't have thrown the duel with Aona so that the Card Forest wouldn't be destroyed!" My eyes widened in surprise, and I asked her, "How do you know about that?" Rhea smiled and told me, "I saw you duel Max, Kara. Aona may be good, but she's not that good." Not letting my doubt show, I smiled and wiped my eyes, but Solomon told us all, "She is indeed evil, for her heart is tainted by Darkness." I asked him, "And just what does my Attribute have to do with this?" Solomon told me, "Darkness is the creator of all wickedness. It is where beings of malice reside, and all evil emerges. You chose to be Dark, therefore you chose to be evil!"

I thought to myself, 'He's right. I did choose Darkness, and I had five other Attributes to choose from. And even before then, I dueled using Dark monsters, and I used them to bully and hurt others.' Images flashed before my eyes, of a younger me dueling mercilessly against other kids, some of them my friends, reducing them to tears. I felt my own tears run down my face, and Solomon drew a card and told me, "Now I activate Transfer of Heavenly Soul, and since a Light monster of mine was destroyed last turn, I can summon a new one, like my Luminous Soldier! He gains 500 ATK whenever he attacks a Dark monster." His Soldier appeared on the field, and its ATK went up from 2100 to 2600. Solomon said to me, "And now I equip my Luminous Soldier with Elf's Light, which raises its ATK by 400! It loses 200 DEF, but that's of little consequence." His monster's ATK went up to 3000, and he pointed at my Patchwork Plushy and exclaimed, "Now, Luminous Soldier, strike down her monster with Solar Might!" His Luminous Soldier slashed Patchwork Plushy and she was destroyed, and my Life Points went down to 2700, and he told me, "Now I end my turn."

When I didn't do anything, Solomon told me, "We are still in a duel if you hadn't noticed, now draw!" I drew my card and saw that it was Rainbow Thread. I looked at my hand in despair, and when I didn't do anything, Solomon told me, "If you aren't going to do anything, then end your turn so that I may defeat you and claim your monsters!" His words snapped me out of my funk, and I thought to myself, 'That's right, if I lose he takes all my Plushys. I can't lose this duel. I have to fight for them!' I looked up at him, and with a newfound determination, told him, "I activate Plushy Wish!" My spell flipped up, showing a Plushy Soldier looking up at a shooting star, and I explained to him, "If a Plushy monster on my side of the field was destroyed last turn, I can draw one card, and if it's a Plushy, I can transfer another one from my Deck to my Hand!" I drew a card, and looked down at it to see that it was my Plushy Reaper. I caught my breath as I looked down at my card, and I thought to myself, 'Hey, it's my Plushy Reaper.' I looked up as another memory came to my mind, and I gasped and thought, 'Wait a minute.' I had a flashback of my conversation with his former incarnation, specifically his last words. 'Darkness hides evil, it doesn't spawn it.' I thought, and it made sense to me now, 'I'm not evil just because I'm dark.' I thought, and more images came back to me from my past, these ones happier, me and my friends having fun duels together, and me apologizing to those I had hurt, and becoming friends with them. I smiled, and told Solomon, "Okay, since I just drew my Plushy Reaper, I get to bring another Plushy Monster from my Deck to my hand!" I took out my deck and looked at the cards in it, then the ones in my hand.

I narrowed my eyes, as I couldn't think of any monsters that could help me here. Then, I saw one at the bottom of my Deck, and I looked it over, smiling. I took it out and shuffled and replaced my Deck, then placed Plushy Conversion in my duel disc and told Solomon, "I now activate Plushy Conversion. Now all non-Plushy monsters on the field are turned into Plushys, and all monsters summoned afterwards become Plushys too!" His Hoshiningen and Luminous Soldier both turned into Plushys, and their ATK points went up to 1200 and 3200 respectively. "And just what do you hope to accomplish with such an act?" Solomon asked me, and I smirked and told him, "I'm not done. Next I activate Rainbow Thread. Now all Plushy monsters on the field get their Attribute changed to whichever one I want, and I choose Darkness!" Solomon's Hoshiningen's star body turned purple, and his Luminous Soldier's armor turned black. His Elf's Light spell shattered, and Luminous Soldier's ATK went down from 3200 to 2800, then from 2800 to 1900. Next, Hoshiningen's ATK went from 1200 to 300, and Solomon growled as he asked me, "You dare corrupt my monsters? Why have their ATK points gone down?" I smiled and told him, "Oh, I dare. And your Hoshiningen's Attribute may have changed, but its ability didn't. Your monsters all lose 400 ATK. Now I summon my Plushy Heart!" I placed the card on the field, and a large heart pillow with sewn-on closed eyes and a small smile appeared, then grew devil horns and a tail. It was a Light Fairy with 100 ATK and 200 DEF, which went down to 0 thanks to Hoshiningen's ability. Solomon asked me, "And just what are you going to do with such a weak monster?"

I told him, "Plushy Heart may be weak, but thanks to his special ability I can take control of one of your monsters, as long as it's a Plushy, which thanks to my Plushy Conversion, they both are!" He stepped back in shock, and I pointed at his Luminous Soldier and told my monster, "Now, Plushy Heart, take control of Luminous Soldier!" My monster zoomed towards his, and as it reached it, it hovered above its head, and a pink glow enveloped both of them. Luminous Soldier then walked over to my side of the field, and I told Solomon, "And it's like you said, he gains 500 ATK when he attacks a Dark monster, like your Hoshiningen! Which he'll do right now. Go Luminous Soldier, Solar Might!" Luminous Soldier rushed toward Hoshiningen and slashed it, causing it to burst into pieces. Solomon then screamed as his Life Points went down to zero, and I put my Deck back in its holster, as our duel discs went back into our Bands.

And there is the duel. I personally like this one, but let me know what you think. No flames! Until next time!


	16. Reunions

Hello everyone this is IndigoWerewolf with the next chapter of Duel Monsters Virtual. If you read the last chapter, you know that Kara and Solomon dueled, and that Kara won. If you didn't read the last chapter, please do so now. I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh, let's read!

Solomon fell to his knees with a shocked expression as his duel disc retracted into his Band, leaving his cards to scatter all around him. I walked up to him as he mumbled something, and as I neared him, it started to make sense. "I've lost," He kept saying, and as he fell onto his hands and knees, he whispered, "Evil has won." I rolled my eyes and told him, "Will you please stop it with the melodrama? I'm not evil, and it's only one duel. Get up already." He looked up at me, and told me, "You are evil, for you are an agent of darkness." I face-palmed, and asked him, "So what? Just because my Attribute's Darkness doesn't make me evil." He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, I pointed at Max and told him, "Just look at Max, his Attribute is Earth and he's the biggest asshole I know." He said, "But-" I interrupted him, however, and told him, "And your Attribute is Light and you force Players to duel, and if they lose, you take their cards." He got to his feet and told me, "I liberate their cards from their corrupt decks." I opened my mouth to retort, but Rhea interrupted me before I could, saying, "Look, Kara's not evil just because of her Attribute. As a matter of fact, she's the nicest person I know!" Solomon scoffed, and Rhea told him, "It's true. She went on a Request for Harold Pye, who she didn't even know, just because he needed help, and when she found out it was just a trick so they could bulldoze the Card Forest and Tutorial Village, she threw the duel and got turned into a girl as a result, then saved mine and Max's lives when we all went on a Quest in Fiend Forest."

She continued her rant, telling Solomon, "If anyone here is evil, it's you. Do you know how many times people have tried to report you? There's actually a saying around here that if someone's being a dick to someone else, they're 'Doing them a Solomon.'" Solomon had a thoughtful look on his face, but before he could say anything, Max walked over and asked, "Wait, you threw the duel with Aona?" I looked to him and sighed, then told him, "Yes Max, I did it so that the Pye family wouldn't be able to tear down the Card Forest." Max ignored my statement and asked me, "So you got turned into a girl on purpose?" I told him, "I didn't know I would be turned into a girl at the time, but yes." Max tried to stifle a laugh, but failed as he said, "Oh my god, this is too good!" I asked him, "What are you talking about?" He continued laughing as he told me, "You got turned into a girl on purpose! This is rich!" He kept laughing, holding his knees, saying, "I'm gonna pee my pants." I growled, looking at him with my hands clenched into fists. When he stood up straight, I brought my foot up as hard as I could and kicked him in the balls. He loot out an oomph and doubled over holding his balls, asking me, "Really, again?" "Yes, again!" I screamed at him, "Because you're an insensitive ass and it's your fault I got turned into a girl!" I yelled, and trembled in anger as tears leaked from my clenched eyes, and Rhea put her arm around me as I started to shake with sobs.

Solomon looked at us and told me, "You're right." I looked up at him and wiped the tears from my eyes and asked him, "What do you mean?" Solomon had a thoughtful look on his face as he told me, "You are not evil, I am. I have been forcing Players to duel me simply because I dislike their Attribute, and you sacrificed so much just so that the Card Forest would stay intact." He got a determined look and told me, "No longer will I force Players to duel me, or take their cards." He got his Deck together and told me, "Speaking of which, it is time for me to honor our agreement." He then spread his cards out so that I could see all of them, and I told him, "It's alright, you don't have to give me any of your cards." He shook his head and told me, "But I do. I lost our wager, and now I must pay up. At least take one, please." I shrugged and looked over his cards one by one, until I saw the Hoshiningen he had used for most of the duel. I paused as I felt a strong energy coming off of it, an energy I recognized, and I pulled it out from the rest and asked him, "Where did you get this monster?" He looked at me confusedly and told me, "I purchased it just this morning, from the Card Shop in Tutorial Village. It had a purple border on it when I bought it, and I assumed it was used." I looked at the card as I realized what this meant, and I smiled and told him, "I'll just take this." He nodded and put the rest of his cards in his Deck Holster, and I put the monster I had selected in mine as purple spread over its border. Solomon shook my hand and told me, "Thank you for showing me that Darkness and evil are not always one and the same Kara. I hope we meet again." I smiled and told him, "I'd like that." He nodded and walked away through the woods, and me, Rhea, and Max did the same, heading towards Tutorial Village.

As we walked, I asked Max, "So, why did he give you a bag of Coins?" Max told me, with a bored expression, "He has a Request on the Quest Board to bring him Players who have the Dark Attribute who hasn't dueled yet." I looked to him with an incredulous look and asked him, "So you sold me out to a Player who takes cards from people with the Dark Attribute for a sack of Coins and a card?" Max sighed and told me, "Yeah yeah, I get it, I'm a doucebag." He pulled a card from his pocket and told me, "What do you say you take this and we call it even?" I looked at the card and read from the top, "Ability Card?" Rhea looked at the card over my shoulder and told me, "Hey, I've heard of these. They give you Abilities you wouldn't be able to get with the Type you have." I looked at Max and asked him, "Where'd you get this?" He told me, "It was the one Solomon gave me. It gives you a tail, but I already have one, so I can't use it. I might as well give it to you." He then told us, "See you later, I've got some Quests to do." He then jogged forwards toward Tutorial Village, leaving Rhea and I to walk together.

"So," Rhea asked me, "Are you going to use it?" I looked at the card in my hand and shrugged, then told her, "I guess so." I tapped it and it broke up into pieces of light and was absorbed into me. My Ability Menu then popped up, showing the new Ability. I selected the Demon 1 style, and I felt a sharp pain in my tailbone, then a slender black tail sprouted from the base of my spine, with a spade shape on the end. I swished it around a little, getting used to the feel of it, and accidently hit Rhea in the butt with it. I laughed at the unexpected incident and brought my hands to my mouth and told her, "Sorry about that." Rhea gave me a wry smile while rubbing her rear, and told me, "It's okay. Be more careful with that thing from now on though, okay?" I giggled and told her, "I will." We reached the Tutorial Village as the sun started to set, and I warped back to my Apartment via the Warp Panel. I got into my underclothes and shirt from when I was still a boy and got in bed.

Before I could go to sleep however, my Band started blinking. I tapped it to see a blank screen with a telephone symbol on it, and my mother's voice sounded out, "Hi sweetie!" My eyes widened as I asked, "Mom?" In surprise. Her voice sounded out again, saying, "Yes sweetie, it's me. Are you okay, your voice sounds kind of high-pitched?" I balked and told her, "Yeah, I-I just got hit in the neck by a tree branch and I think it messed my voice up." My mom sighed in relief and told me, "Well, that's good. But anyway, we've got some good news for you." She said the last sentence with a singsongy voice, and in confusion I asked her, "What is it?" My mother told me, "Me and your father are coming to visit you!" My face paled as I asked her, "You what?" My mom told me, "Me and your father are coming into the virtual world for a visit tomorrow!" A faint voice said something I couldn't make out, and she told me, "I have to go sweetie, love you!" The call ended, and I took a moment to absorb what my mother had said, and when it had sunk in, I fell on the bed and passed out.

Dun Dun Dun! There's the chapter. Sorry about it being short but this was too good of a cliffhanger. See you next time!


	17. Revelations

Hello everyone this is IndigoWerewolf with the next chapter of Duel Monsters Virtual. I can't think of anything to say here so let's just jump right into the story. I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh, let's read!

I came back to consciousness dazedly, with my new tail aching slightly from the awkward position it had been in. I got up and stretched, but when I remembered the reason I had passed out, I started to panic. I quickly clamed myself down, thinking to myself, 'Calm down Kara, it's not going to do you any good to pass out again.' I composed myself, then tried to think of what to do. 'Okay, my parents are going to be here in,' I thought to myself, then checked the clock in my Band Menu to see that it was 8:00 am. 'A few hours.' I finished my thought, then continued, 'I can just get rid of my wings and tail for the day.' I groaned, then continued, 'But I'm still a girl and have no idea how to turn back.' With no ideas, I opened my Band Menu again and called Rhea. The screen showed a ringing phone for a few minutes until Rhea's face popped up. "Hey Kara!" She greeted me, but before she could say anything else, I interrupted her, saying, "Rhea, I need your help." Rhea got a confused look and asked, "What's the matter?" Panicked, I told her, "My parents are coming to the virtual world tomorrow to visit me." Rhea still looked confused as she asked, "So?"

"So," I told her, "They have no idea that I'm a girl and if my mom finds out, she'll freak out." Rhea hummed, then told me, "That is a problem." "What do I do?" I asked her panicked. Rhea told me, "Just calm down. Look, your parents don't know you're a girl, right?" "Yes." I told her, and she responded with, "So just introduce yourself to them with a different name and tell them you're on a Quest, then say you asked yourself to show them around." My breathing steadied as I calmed down, and I said to her, "Okay, I-I guess that could work. Thanks Rhea." She smiled at me, then told me, "No problem. I'll see you later, okay?" I nodded in response and Rhea ended the call, then I took deep breaths to calm myself down. I went into the bathroom and undressed, then stepped into the shower. While I was in there, I tested out my new tail, grabbing my shampoo and soap with it. It was surprisingly prehensile, and after a few minutes it felt as natural as any other part of my body. I stepped out of the shower and dried off, then got my clothes on and brushed my teeth, then ate breakfast, consisting of two apples and another sandwich. I then got another call on my Band, which I accepted. The same phone icon came on, and my father's voice came through. "Hey Karo," he said, then told me, "We're in Player HQ, are you there?" I lowered my voice to close to what it had been earlier and told him, "Actually dad, I can't make it today." His voice came through, asking me, "What? Why?" I told him, still lowering my voice, "I'm on a big Quest and can't come over, but I asked a friend of mine to show you around the virtual world. Is that okay?" My dad told me, "I guess, but your mother won't like it." I sighed, then told him, "I know. Don't worry, I'll come over sometime soon." My dad told me, "Okay, see you some other time then." I responded, "Okay, see you." I then ended the call and walked into the Warp Panel, then took a deep breath and said out loud, "Player HQ."

I was warped to my destination and looked around for my parents. I saw them near the desk that said 'Visitors' and walked over to them. My mom didn't look very happy, and my father was standing there awkwardly, leading me to believe she had just gotten the news. I reached them and told my mother, "Excuse me." She looked to me and asked me, "Oh hello, can we help you?" I smiled at her and asked her, "Are you Karo's parents?" She looked to me with renewed interest and asked, "Yes, how did you know?" I extended my hand for her to shake, which she did, and told her, "I'm Mia, Karo asked me to show you around the virtual world." She got a crestfallen look and said, "Oh, so you're the friend he mentioned. How do you know each other again?" At this, my father gave her a look and said, "Sarah." With a warning tone. She looked to him and asked, "What?" My father rolled his eyes and told her, "Karo isn't a child anymore, he can make his own friends without your approval." My mother had a worried look as she told him, "I know, I'm just trying to make sure he's not spending time with someone who'll try to seduce him." I felt a burn on my face as I remarked, "You do realize I can hear you, right?" My mom put her hands on her mouth in embarrassment and told me, "Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry." I giggled and told her, "It's okay, but for the record, Karo and I are just friends."

(I'm going to refer to the parents by name now because calling them mom and dad is annoying)

Sarah seemed nervous as she asked me, "By the way, if you don't mind, could I ask you why you have a tail? And wings?" Robert told her, "Sarah, don't be rude." She looked to him, but before she could say anything, I told him, "It's okay, I don't mind. They're actually Abilities, and they help me when I'm in a fight with a wild monster." Sarah nodded and then Robert asked me, "By the way, you never told us how you know Karo." I started to sweat internally as I made a story up on the spot, telling them, "Actually, we met not long after getting here. We were both in the same exam class, so we got to the virtual world at the same time. Something went wrong though, and we ended up in the middle of the forest without any cards." Robert looked to me and asked, "No cards?" I nodded and told him, "We spawned up in the air, and our deck holsters came undone and they all fell. Items here only have a one hour life once they're dropped on the ground, so we lost them all. We helped each get to the Tutorial Village and we've been hanging out since then." Sarah had a confused look as she asked, "Well then why aren't you with him on the Quest now?" I got nervous as I told her, "I-It was a one-person Quest, and I felt like just taking it easy today." I let out a nervous laugh, but Robert and Sarah seemed to buy it as Robert asked me, "Okay, so where should we start?" Sarah thought about it for a moment before asking, "Well, what's this Tutorial Village you mentioned? Maybe we could start there." I told her, "Tutorial Village is sort of a starter area for new Players. We can go there if you want." Robert nodded and told me, "That sounds nice. Let's go." Sarah nodded as well, and I led them to the Warp Panel and told them how to use it.

We stepped through to Tutorial Village to see that it was under attack. The Players were fighting a giant tree with an evil face and prehensile branches with flowers on the end that looked like lips with fangs, which were lashing around striking them. "Vampire Orchus." I said to myself, and Sarah stepped back in fear and asked me, "What is that thing?" I told her, "A wild monster. It must have glitched into the Village." I then told the both of them, "Go hide. I'll take care of it." Robert nodded, and he and Sarah ran behind the Armor Shop. I took flight, drawing my dagger as I did so, and struck one of the branches, cutting off the flower. The Plant-Type hissed at me, and more rushed at me. I dodged them, sending out Shadow Darts and cutting with my dagger and tail when they got too close, whittling down the creature's health bar. It was made more difficult by the Des Dendle that it kept summoning, which I dispatched by diving down and Shadow Palming them.

This continued for a while until I heard a high-pitched scream. I looked to the source to see Robert and Sarah cowering behind the wreck that was once the Armor Shop, with the Orhcus' branches looming over it menacingly. My eyes widened, and I dived down towards them, folding down my wings while taking two cards from my Deck. I reached them and spread my wings to slow myself, turning in midair to stand in front of them protectively. I held up the cards and exclaimed, "I summon the Princess of Yuki, and equip her with the Black Pendant!" My monster appeared, with the Black Pendant around her neck, and charged up an attack with her staff. She let it loose and struck the Vampire Orchus in the face, causing its health bar to go down to zero, and it hissed as it dissolved and was absorbed into the various Players that were battling it. I panted as my arm dropped, and I put the cards back in my deck and turned to my parents. "Are you okay?" I asked them, and Robert smiled and told me, "We're just fine, son." I laughed nervously and asked him, "What are you talking about? I'm not Karo, I'm Mia, remember?" Robert gave me a wry smile and told me, "Nice try, son. But you can't fool us, especially not now that you've shown your signature monster." I realized that the jig was up, and muttered under my breath, "Damn it." Sarah looked to me with wide eyes, and asked me, "Wait, so you really are Karo?" I groaned and told her, "Yeah mom, it's me." Her mouth opened and closed in astonishment, and her eyes rolled back in her head and she collapsed to the ground.

Robert caught her before she hit her head, and I sighed and remarked, "Well, it's better than how I thought she'd take it." Robert chuckled, but before either of us could say anything else, I heard Rhea's voice exclaim, "Kara!" I turned to see her running towards me, and once she reached me, she asked, "Kara, are you okay?" She then saw my parents, and nervously said, "I-I mean, um-" I cut her off, telling her, "It's okay Rhea, they know." Rhea winced and asked me, "Well, at least your mom took it well." Robert laughed again and asked us, "Why don't we go somewhere and try to wake your mother up?" I nodded and grabbed her feet, carrying her to the Inn.

Sarah asked me, "So why are you a girl, exactly?" Me, my parents, and Rhea were sitting at a table in the restaurant of the Inn, my mom nursing a cup of tea with a worried expression. I sighed and told her, "It's a long story, so get comfortable." She leaned in in interest, and I explained to her, "I won a duel against a jerk named Max, so to get back at me he told me about a Request from somebody named Harold Pye, who needed me to recover a stolen card from the Dungeon Master of Card Forest, but while I was dueling her, she told me that he only wanted the card so that he could weaken her and he and his family could take control of the Card Forest and turn it and Tutorial Village into a hotel, so I threw the duel, but since I had agreed to a bet beforehand, I got turned into a girl once it was over." Sarah nodded, and before she could say anything, Robert asked me, "So basically, you lost a bet?" His simplification of it made me giggle, but Sarah didn't find it funny as she elbowed him and told him, "Robert this is serious. Our son is now our daughter!"

He sighed, then looked to me with a questioning look. I nodded, giving him the go-ahead. Robert nodded and told Sarah, "Sarah, I think it's time you knew something." She turned from me to him, then asked Robert, "What? What is it?" I spoke for him, telling her, "I've been keeping a secret from you for a while, mom. Have you ever heard of gender dysphoria?" She scrunched her eyebrows together and told me, "Yes, it's where someone's brain identifies themselves as the opposite gender of their body." Her eyes widened, and she asked me, "Wait, are you?" She let the question hang, waiting for me to answer, which I did with a nod. She then turned to Robert and asked, "And you knew?" He nodded as well, and she turned back and forth between us, then asked me, "Why didn't you tell me?" I sighed and told her, "Because you wouldn't listen to me, you'd just try to fix it immediately and wind up making it worse." She got an incredulous expression and told me, "No I wouldn't have." Robert gave her a look and asked her, "Honey, don't you remember when that bully kept picking on Karo when he was still a boy? We wanted to go to the principal, but you didn't listen and went to his mother and he ended up getting grounded and then he beat Karo up the next day." I winced at the memory, and Sarah thought for a moment, then told me, "Okay, maybe I don't deal with personal problems in the best way, but you still could've told me." I told her, "We were waiting until I could go to the virtual world and become a girl myself, but it happened a little earlier than I had planned." Rhea interjected, asking me, "Wait, if you wanted to be a girl, then why were you so upset when it first happened?" I explained to her, "I wanted to wait a while until I was ready, I was upset because it was unexpected and I had gotten tricked into it. Besides, I was mostly just mad at Max." She nodded in understanding, and Sarah asked me, "So, do you feel better now?" I smiled at her and asked, "Actually, yeah, I do. I would've preferred to wait until I was ready, but I do feel a lot better now." She nodded, then told me, "Well, then I'm happy for you." I smiled at my mother's acceptance, and once we were done catching up, I led them back to Player HQ and they went back to the real world.

"That was an ordeal." I remarked, while me and Rhea walked through Tutorial Village. She smiled at me, then told me, "Yeah, but it turned out for the best I think." I nodded, then asked her, "So, what do you want to do with the rest of the day?" She put her hand on her chin, thinking for a moment, then asked me, "Why don't we duel?" I looked to her in surprise and asked her, "How come you want to duel me?" Rhea shrugged and told me, "There aren't going to be any Quests or Requests until they fix the Quest Board, so we might as well. Besides, I want to see how good you are for myself." I grinned and told her, "Okay then, let's duel." We walked to the middle cul-de-sac in the Player District and materialized our duel discs, then simultaneously exclaimed, "Let's Duel!"

And there it is. Now, I am still unsure as to what kind of Deck Rhea should use, so if you have any ideas, please let me know via review. Until next time, read and review, and as always, no flames!


	18. An Old Friend

Hello everyone this is IndigoWerewolf with the next chapter of Duel Monsters Virtual. Now, before this chapter starts, I just want to say I have finished Yu-Gi-Oh GX and moved on to Yu-Gi-Oh 5ds, but I am not going to use Tuner or Synchro monsters in this story. With that said, let's read. I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

Rhea and I both materialized our duel discs. Hers was the silver sword and shield of a warrior, with jade green trim. We both drew five cards and Rhea told me, "I'll go first." She then drew another card, then placed one in her monster zone and told me, "I summon Color Sprite Green to the field in defense mode." Her monster appeared on the field, a small fairy with a green aura and bug-like eyes. It was an Earth Fairy with 400 ATK and 1200 DEF. "And once per turn, my Sprite can't be destroyed in battle. Your move." She told me, and I drew another card and looked at my hand. In my hand I had Big Plushy Bear, Pink Plushy Rabbit, Plushy Zombie, Plushy Sheep, and Plushy Factory. I smiled and told Rhea, "I activate the field spell Plushy Factory!" I slid the card in my field spell slot and the cul-de-sac changed. A large machine and some conveyor belts appeared, both made from cloth, and the ground changed to a shag rug. I told her, "And thanks to the effect of Plushy Factory, not only do all of my Plushy monsters gain 300 ATK and DEF, but I can special summon one Plushy monster to the field each turn." I then put Big Plushy Bear's card in my monster zone and I told her, "And this turn I choose Big Plushy Bear!" The machine revved up and the conveyor belt started to move, and Big Plushy Bear emerged from a hatch in the bottom of the machine and appeared on the field, and its ATK went up to 1700, and its DEF increased to 1400. I then placed Pink Plushy Rabbit's card on my duel disc and told her, "And I'll normal summon Pink Plushy Rabbit in attack mode!" My monster appeared next to Big Plushy Bear, and its ATK and DEF increased to 900 and 800 respectively. I then told her, "And that ends my turn."

Rhea nodded and drew a card, and she told me, "I summon Color Sprite Red in attack mode!" She then placed a card on her duel disc and her monster appeared. It looked the same as her other Color Sprite, but with a red aura instead of a green one, and like the other one, it was a Fairy, but with the Fire Attribute, with 700 ATK and 300 DEF. Rhea told me, "And thanks to her special ability, every Color Sprite monster on my field gains 300 ATK." Her Red Sprite's ATK increased to 1000, and Rhea pointed at my Rabbit and told her Color Sprite Red, "Now, Color Sprite Red, destroy her Pink Plushy Rabbit with Red Flare!" Her monster charged up a fireball and launched it at Pink Plushy Rabbit, but before it connected I exclaimed, "I activate Pink Plushy Rabbit's special ability! When it's attacked, I can switch it from attack mode to defense!" My monster covered its eyes as it switched to defense mode, and the fireball destroyed without me losing Life Points. Rhea scrunched her eyebrows together in irritation, then slid a card into her spell zone and told me, "I place one card face-down and end my turn." A face-down appeared on her field, and I drew a card. I looked to it to see that it was my Plushy Whale. I smirked and told Rhea, "I'm summoning out a new Plushy monster! Plushy Whale, come out to the field in defense mode!" The machine revved up again and Plushy Whale appeared on the conveyor belt and emerged onto the field. It was a huge stuffed whale, with a light-blue top and white underside, with black plastic eyes. It was a Water Fairy with 800 ATK and 2200 DEF, which went up to 1100 ATK and 2500 DEF. I told Rhea, "And thanks to Plushy Whale's special ability, I can destroy one spell or trap card on your side of the field once per turn." I then pointed at Rhea's face-down card and told Plushy Whale, "Now, Plushy Whale, destroy her face-down card!" Plushy Whale squeaked loudly and dark blue string flew up from its blowhole like water, which covered the face-down card and destroyed it. Rhea growled, and I told her, "And now I can summon another Plushy, like my Plushy Zombie, in defense mode!" I placed Plushy Zombie's card on my disc and it appeared on the field. It was a Dark Fairy with 200 ATK and DEF, which went up to 500. It was the same size as Plushy Soldier, with a dark green shirt and blue pants, and its head was ovoid in shape, and had two loose threads that exposed its stuffing, one on the side of its head and one on its face. It had two plastic eyes, one broken with the top half missing, and the other completely white, with the black rubbed off. Its mouth was a black patch made to look like an open frown with three teeth showing. I told Rhea, "And thanks to its special ability, I can bring one Plushy monster from my graveyard to my hand once it's summoned." Pink Plushy Rabbit's card came out of my graveyard and I added it to my hand, and I then pointed at Color Sprite Red and told my Big Plushy Bear, "Now, Big Plushy Bear, destroy her Color Sprite Red!" My monster rushed at hers and slammed its paw down on it, destroying it and lowering Rhea's Life Points to 3300. I then told her, "And now I'll end my turn."

Rhea drew a card with a determined look on her face and told me, "I activate my Crayon Box spell card!" She slid a card into her spell card zone and it appeared on the field, showing an open box of crayons. She explained to me, "This card lets me special summon one Color Sprite monster from my deck, one from my hand, and one from my graveyard!" She then placed a monster on her field and told me, "From my hand I summon Color Sprite Blue." A blue Color Sprite appeared on the field, a Water Fairy with 650 ATK and 400 DEF. She then took a card from her graveyard and placed it on the field, continuing, "From my graveyard I summon Color Sprite Red." Her monster reappeared on the field, and she took a card from her deck and reshuffled it, then placed it on the field and told me, "And from my deck I summon Color Sprite Yellow!" A yellow Color Sprite appeared on her field, a Light Fairy with 600 ATK and 400 DEF. She continued, "And now I'll sacrifice them all to summon Color Sprite Rainbow!" She removed the three Color Sprites she had just summoned from her disc and put them in her graveyard, and then placed one more on it. Another Color Sprite appeared, this one human-sized, with an aura of various shifting colors. It was a Light Fairy with 1800 ATK and 2000 DEF. Rhea then pointed at my Big Plushy Bear and told her own monster, "Now, Color Sprite Rainbow, destroy her Big Plushy Bear with Rainbow Rain!" Her monster charged up a sphere of rainbow-colored energy and launched it upwards, where it broke up into six colors, purple, white, blue, red, yellow, and green. The spheres of color flew down and impacted with my monster, who was destroyed. My Life Points went down to 3900, and she told me, "And thanks to her special ability, I can bring one Color Sprite from my graveyard to my hand once per turn." She withdrew a card from her graveyard and told me, "Your turn." I nodded and drew a card, and saw that it was Sewing Needle. I slid it into my spell zone and told her, "I place one card on the field face-down." My card appeared face-down, and I placed Plushy Sheep's card on the field and told her, "And now I'll summon another new Plushy, Plushy Sheep, in defense mode!" My monster appeared, a Light Beast with 600 ATK and 700 DEF, which increased to 1100 ATK and 1200 DEF. It was a stuffed sheep with a round body with fluffy wool on it and a zipper running along its stomach, and button eyes with a tuft of wool on its head. I told her, "Now I'll end my turn."

Rhea drew a card and told her Rainbow Sprite, "Color Sprite Rainbow, destroy her Plushy Sheep with Rainbow Rain!" Rainbow Sprite launched her attack again and my monster was destroyed, causing a huge plume of smoke. I smirked and told her, "That's just what I was hoping for." Rhea had a surprised look as I continued, "You see, when Plushy Sheep is destroyed in battle and sent to the graveyard, I can summon a different monster. Say hello to Plushy Wolf!" As I said the last sentence, the smoke cleared to reveal my Plushy Wolf. It was a Light Beast that was a bit bigger than Plushy Sheep, and had a zipper on its back, with button eyes, an open mouth with cloth teeth, and a mean expression. It howled as its ATK and DEF showed 1800 and 1500, which went up to 2100 and 1800. Rhea stepped back in surprise, and I asked her, "What's the matter, Rhea? Never heard of a wolf in sheep's clothing?" I snickered at my own joke, and Rhea told me, "Ha ha, very funny. I end my turn." I composed myself and drew a card, to see it was Plushy Knight. I told Rhea, "I sacrifice my Plushy Zombie to summon Plushy Knight!" My zombie disappeared, to be replaced with my Plushy Knight. It's ATK and DEF went from 1300 and 1100 to 1600 and 1400 respectively, and I told Rhea, "And since I sacrificed a Plushy monster to summon it, my Knight gains 600 ATK and DEF." It's ATK and DEF went up to 2200 and 2000, and I pointed at Color Sprite Green and told Plushy Wolf, "Now, Plushy Wolf, attack her Color Sprite Green!" My wolf rushed at Color Sprite Green, but was repelled by the glow around it strengthening. Rhea smirked and told me, "Did you forget? Once per turn, Color Sprite Green can't be destroyed in battle." I smirked back and told her, "Maybe, but I have two monsters on the field that can destroy it. Now, Plushy Knight, destroy Color Sprite Green!" My knight rushed at it and slashed it in half, destroying it. I told Rhea, "Now I end my turn."

Rhea drew a card and looked at it, then placed it on her duel disc and told me, "I summon Woodland Sprite in attack mode!" Her monster appeared on the field, and I felt a wave of energy wash over me. 'What is this?' I thought to myself, as the energy centered on me, almost suffocating me. My eyes widened as I faintly recognized the energy, and a light bulb went off in my head. 'That's the same Woodland Sprite I got rid of.' I thought to myself, but had no more time for reflection as Rhea told me, "I now activate the equip spell United We Stand, which gives my monster 800 ATK for every other one I have on my field. She slid a card into her duel disc, and the aforementioned spell appeared on the field, and Woodland Sprite's ATK went up to 1700. She then slid another one in and told me, "Now I equip Woodland Sprite with Paralyzing Potion, which prevents it from attacking or changing battle position." The spell appeared on the field, and Woodland Sprite glowed blue. "Let me guess," I asked her, "You're going to discard it to activate Woodland Sprite's special ability, and deal 500 points of damage to my Life Points, right?" Rhea nodded and told me, "You got it." The spell was destroyed and my Life Points went down to 3400, and Rhea told me, "Now I equip Woodland Sprite with Invigoration, to raise its ATK by 400." Her monster's ATK went up to 2100, and she told me, "Now I end my turn."

Starting to panic at the energy that was encircling me, I drew a card, to reveal Royal Tea Party. I slid it into my spell card slot and told Rhea, "I activate Royal Tea Party, to summon a monster with the word 'Princess' in its names from my deck. And I choose Princess of Yuki." My monster appeared on the field, and I told Rhea, "And now I switch Plushy Whale to attack mode and activate its special ability, to destroy United We Stand!" Her spell was destroyed and Woodland Sprite's ATK went down to 1300. I slid Sewing Needle into my duel disc and told Rhea, "Now I equip Plushy Knight with Sewing Needle, to raise its ATK by 300!" My Knight's sword disappeared and was replaced by a giant sewing needle, as its ATK went up to 2500. I told Princess of Yuki, "Now Princess of Yuki, activate your special ability and immobilize Color Sprite Rainbow!" My monster charged up her staff and froze the monster I had indicated, and I told Plushy Wolf, "Now, Plushy Wolf, destroy Woodland Sprite!" My wolf rushed at the monster that had once resided in my deck and bit down on it, destroying it and lowering Rhea's Life Points to 2500, and I then pointed at her and told Plushy Knight, "Now, Plushy Knight, attack Rhea directly and end the duel!" My Plushy Knight rushed at Rhea and slashed her with the needle, lowering her Life Points to zero.

As they dropped, I felt the energy dissipate, and once our monsters faded from the field and the cul-de-sac returned to normal, I fell to the ground shuddering.

And that's the end of that chapter. Until next time!


	19. Spirits and Sprites

Hello everyone this is IndigoWerewolf with another chapter of Duel Monsters Virtual. First off, I want to apologize because this chapter is pretty short, but I am writing it pretty late, and also I will not be updating until Halloween night because I am planning on writing a special Halloween chapter, and I don't want to just write it and post it like I usually do, I want it to be good, and I will be revising and altering it a little, and of course, coming up with an idea for the chapter.

I kneeled on my hands and knees in the cul-de-sac, trying to recover from the wave of energy I had felt. After a minute, I felt a hand on my shoulder, and looked up to see Rhea looking down at me with a worried look on her face. "Are you okay?" She asked, and I shakily stood up and told her, "I'm okay." She asked me, "What happened back there? You froze up and started shaking last turn." I took several deep breaths and looked to her Deck holster, then told her, "That monster you played, the Woodland Sprite, it used to be in my Deck before I remade it." Rhea opened her mouth to ask a question, but before she could say anything, a soft voice sounded out, "Indeed I was." "What was that?" Rhea asked, but before I could reply, the voice continued, "Me." Just then, a sphere of glowing green light emerged from Rhea's Deck and rose above us. As we watched, it morphed into a shape that I recognized, and the glow faded to reveal the ghostly form of the Woodland Sprite.

"What the hell?" Rhea asked next to me, but I didn't have time to acknowledge her as the Sprite started to speak. "It's true, I am the same monster that used to reside in Kara's deck." As tears started to leak from my eyes, I looked up at the apparition and told it, "I'm sorry I got rid of you. When you didn't accept my heart, I was scared of being hurt again and pushed you away." I sensed a pleasant aura coming from the monster as it told me, "Do not be sorry, Kara. I would never have been at home in your deck." "This is so freaky." Rhea muttered, but it continued, more monster spirits appearing around it, some I recognized from Lily's deck, others I hadn't seen before. Woodland Sprite continued as the spirits surrounded it, "But now I have found a home in Rhea's deck, a place where I truly belong. You have no reason to be sorry." I smiled and wiped the tears from my eyes, and told him, "Well, I'm glad you've found somewhere you can be sorry." Something occurred to me however, and I asked him, "But wait, what was that energy I felt in the duel?" Woodland Sprite told me apologetically, "My apologies. I was amassing energy in order to communicate with you. I'm sorry if I overwhelmed you." I giggled and told it, "It's okay." Before I could say anything else however, Woodland Sprite's form started to fade, and it told me, "I must go now Kara, but know that the monsters you discarded do not feel malice towards you." Woodland Sprite faded completely, and its spirit returned to Rhea's Deck.

Rhea looked at me wide-eyed for a moment while I looked up at the space where Woodland Sprite just was, and after a moment she asked me, "What in the Shadow Realm was that?" I looked to her in surprise and asked her, "You saw it too?" Rhea nodded and asked me, "What just happened? How come I could see it?" I explained to her, "For as long as I've been dueling, I could sense my monster's hearts, and sometimes I could even talk to them. After a while, I found out that I could let other people see them too. But sometimes, if I'm scared or upset, it isn't really up to me." In surprise, Rhea asked me, "So what you told me before was true?" In indignation, I asked her, "Yes. I thought you said you believed me?!" Rhea had a sheepish look as she told me, "I did. But hearing someone talk about it and seeing it with your own eyes are two different things." Simmering down, I admitted, "I guess you're right." I then let out a big yawn and Rhea remarked, "Let's both get some rest. It's been a long day." I looked to the sunset and told her, "Yeah, I guess so." Rhea and I both said goodnight to each other and stepped into the Warp Panel, and once I had reached my Apartment I changed into my sleep shirt and went to bed.

Again, sorry this was so short, but it is late. Also, leave a review if you want a lemon in the Halloween chapter. Until next time!


	20. Tricks

Hello everyone this is IndigoWerewolf with the special Halloween chapter of Duel Monsters Virtual. I cannot think of anything clever to say right now, so let's read! Happy Halloween and I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

*KaibaCorp HQ, Main Office, October 30*

Seto Kaiba was typing away on his computer late at night. He had been working on a special Duel Monsters card, specifically a monster, for the past week, and was almost finished. He typed the last details of the monster he had been designing into his computer and saved the file, then leaned back with his eyes closed. 'Finally, it's done.' He thought, rubbing his eyes. He continued his monologue, thinking, 'Now all that's left is to send it to Pegasus.' As if his thoughts had sent some kind of message to the man, the face of Maximillian Pegasus appeared on his computer, startling him. "Well hello there Kaiba-boy," The silver-haired man said, then continued, "Have you finished the 'special monster' you told me about?" Seto nodded and told him, "I just finished. As a matter of fact, I was just about to send it to you." He then typed on his computer some more, sending the file to the creator of Duel Monsters. Pegasus looked it over with a grin, then told Seto, "You weren't exaggerating Kaiba-boy, this is magnificent. How long did you spend designing it, again?" He asked the last question with a slightly worried tone, and Kaiba told him, "All week. I just now finished." Pegasus had a worried look as he asked, "All week?" Kaiba raised his eyebrow and asked, "Yes. Why?" Pegasus asked, "And you didn't sleep or take a break?" Seto told him, "I slept a little at Mokuba's insistence, but for the most part no. Why are you making such a big deal out of this?" Pegasus told him, "Kaiba-boy, when you called me about this monster and asked for my approval to make it, I could tell that it was important to you. Far too important." "And just what does that mean?" Seto asked him, to which Pegasus replied, "I mean, you've put so much energy into this monster I believe it may become a monster spirit." Seto rolled his eyes and asked him, "Are you serious? It's just a file of data. It hasn't even been made into an actual card yet." Pegasus replied, "That may be, but monsters in the virtual world are just as capable of being spirits as ones in the real world. After all, when I've gone into the virtual world, my Toon monsters are just as much spirits as they are in the real one. And the reason they are spirits in the first place is because I spent so much time and energy making them and dueling with them." Seto asked Pegasus, "Well, so what if it does become a spirit? It couldn't possibly be strong enough to manifest itself so soon after being created." Pegasus, with a stern look, told Seto, "Maybe so, but remember you're sending it into the virtual world. And the virtual world can be manipulated, changed, reprogrammed. If you're not careful with that monster, it could cause chaos." Seto took a moment to think about his words, then told him, "Don't worry, I'll make sure it can't do any damage. I'll talk to you in the morning, I need to get some sleep." Without waiting to hear Pegasus' reply, he canceled the call and closed the file containing the monster, then left for his bedroom.

*Inside Seto Kaiba's Computer*

The newly-formed monster, simply a silhouette in the expanses of Seto's laptop, said to itself, "So Seto thinks he can contain me, does he? Well I'll just have to prove him wrong, now won't I?" The silhouette then laughed maniacally and started probing the data around him, looking for an access point to the virtual world. Once it found one, it grinned and remarked, "Bingo." It then dissolved into a stream of data and entered the virtual world.

*Virtual World, Kara's Apartment*

I woke up from my sleep slowly, and stretched my arms above my head. I got out of bed and got out my clothes from my Inventory. Before putting them on, I paused. They were a bit dirty, having a few grass and blood stains on them, and one of my bras was still covered in dried blood, so I decided to look around my Apartment for a washing machine. I found one in a closet in the kitchen after a few minutes of searching, along with some detergent and a dryer. I loaded all of my clothing into the washer and poured in some of the detergent. Just then, my Band started flashing jade green, signaling that I was getting a call from Rhea. Before accepting it, I got a sheet from my bed and wrapped it around myself, then tapped my Band. "Hey Kara, how's it going?" Rhea asked me, and I replied, "Pretty good. Why do you ask?" Rhea told me, "I just wanted to see how you were doing after yesterday." At her words, I remembered yesterday's events. We had gone into Fiend Forest for a quest, and I had gotten knocked into a pond by a Dark Plant. I told her, "I'm fine. How are you feeling?" Rhea had a big grin on her face as she told me, "I'm feeling great. I just finished my costume, you want to see it?" In confusion, I asked her, "Costume for what?" She told me, "For Halloween silly, you do remember it's today, right?" I asked her, "Aren't we a little old for Halloween?" Rhea told me, "Sorry, I forgot you're new. See, there's a tradition with Players that every Halloween we dress up as a monster and have a party with a homemade costume contest." "Really?" I asked Rhea, and she nodded and told me, "And this year, Seto Kaiba himself designed a card for the prize." "I guess I better start on a costume, then, huh?" I asked her, and she nodded and told me, "But it has to be a monster from your deck. If you don't have the monster you're dressed as in your deck, you won't even be able to get into the party, let alone enter the contest."

I rubbed the back of my head and remarked, "I better get busy then. Talk to you later." Rhea nodded and told me, "Good luck. And remember, it has to be a monster that's in your deck." She then ended the call. Remembering what I had been doing before she called, I started the washing machine. While it ran, I went through my deck to find a monster that I could dress up as. I frowned as I went through my cards. "Most of my monsters are Plushys, so I don't have a lot of options." I said to myself, and continued looking through my deck, and came across the Princess of Yuki. 'This could work.' I thought to myself, but then sighed and kept going through my cards, thinking, 'No, I could never make a costume of her in time.' I then came across Lollipop Princess, but I had the same problem. I then came across another monster, and thought to myself, 'This could work.' Hearing the washing machine finish, I took the clothes out and put them in the dryer. While the clothes were drying, I started designing my costume, measuring how much thread and cloth I would need. Once my clothes were dry, I put them on and went to Rosie's shop to get the materials I would need, and while in Tutorial Village, I saw that some Players had already gotten costumes and were walking around in them, and once I had gotten everything I needed for my own costume, I went back to my Apartment. After about an hour in Free-Sewing mode, I was finished. I got a text message from Rhea on my Band asking me if I was done with my costume. I replied that I was and we agreed to meet in Tutorial Village, where the notice for the party would be on the Quest Board. I put my costume on, finding it a bit baggy, but still wearable, and stepped onto the Warp Panel.

Once I stepped into Tutorial Village I was surprised by the amount of Players in costumes. Earlier, there had only been a few, but now almost everybody was dressed as some sort of monster. I saw Rhea's face in the crowd, and I went up to her and told her, "Hey Rhea." She looked to me with a smile, but then got a confused look and asked, "What are you wearing?" I looked down at myself, then looked up and told her, "Uh, my costume. What's the matter?" She asked me, "I meant what monster are you?" I told her, "I'm Patchwork Plushy. Why, isn't it good?" Rhea got an awkward look on her face and said, "Uhhhhhhhhh." But otherwise didn't reply. I looked over my costume. Like Patchwork Plushy, it was made from pieces of black and white cloth stitched together, with a zipper on the back. I had designed it like a pair of footie pajamas, with mittens covering my hands and booties covering my feet. I made the head into a hood, with my face showing out of its mouth, minus the thread sewing it shut, and the button and 'X' of cloth that was its eyes on my forehead, and the ears on top of my head. I had disabled my Flight Ability so that my wings wouldn't get in the way, but I tied a piece of thick black thread on the end of my tail in a knot to look like my monster's, and it showed out the back. "I think it looks good." I muttered to myself, and a voice behind me remarked, "Well then you need to get your eyesight checked." I turned around to see Max dressed like a werewolf standing there. "Well at least I'm actually a monster." I told him, to which he replied, "Yeah, and so am I. I'm WereBeast Wolfman." He then turned to Rhea and asked her, "And what are you supposed to be?" Rhea told us, "I'm Rose Fairy." She was indeed dressed as the small monster, with a large rose on her head, red goggles, a pink jumpsuit with four wings on the back, and red gloves and boots. Max rolled his eyes and said, "Whatever. Let's just check the Quest Board." We all walked up to the Quest Board and saw a large notice on it, reading, "Attention Players: The Halloween party and costume contest have been cancelled. Instead, a special dungeon has been created inside Fiend Forest, called 'Halloween Town.' The boss of this dungeon is a monster known as 'Jack the Lantern', the monster originally designed for the prize of the costume contest. The Player who reaches and defeats it will receive the monster as a card. However, you must participate in a special contest in order to enter the dungeon, the rules of which will be revealed at Halloween Town. Do you wish to enter the contest?" After that, it had yes and no options, which most ignored, leaving after reading that the party had been cancelled. I turned to Rhea and Max and asked them, "Should we do it?" Max replied, "I don't know about you, but I spent too much time making this costume to let it go to waste. You two can do whatever you want, but I'm entering." Rhea told me, "Well, since it's either this or spend tonight at home doing nothing, I'm in." I nodded, and we all pressed yes. We then all got a map marker that showed somewhere in Fiend Forest, and we all set off for it. None of us were prepared for what we saw when we reached it, however.

When we emerged from the trees into Halloween Town, we saw a sprawling town trapped in perpetual twilight, with a full moon above it. The buildings were of gothic architecture, painted in blacks, purples, and dark blues, but strangely there were only houses, with no shops or business at all. There was also a huge mansion at the far end of the town behind a pumpkin patch. The streets were dark cobblestone with oil lampposts standing at the sides, providing a small amount of light, and the ghostly forms of Fiend and Zombie monsters floated through the streets. "Wow." I breathed out, and Rhea and Max nodded beside me. We walked up to a square with a dry fountain in the middle, where most of the Players who had entered the contest were gathered, about twenty or thirty, all in costumes. Suddenly, a gout of flames erupted from the fountain, startling the Players gathered. A maniacal laugh sounded out, and the flames died down to reveal a strange figure, one with a rail-thin body made from dark green wood, with a flaming jack-o'-lantern for a head with a ragged witches' hat on top of it, holding a farming scythe in one hand. The figure spoke, telling the gathered crowd, "Hello there monsters, my name is Jack the Lantern, and welcome to Halloween Town!" Jack then continued, explaining to us, "Now, I think I know why you're all here, so let's just get to the good stuff. To win the contest, you must of course defeat me in combat. But what fun would it be if it were that easy? First, you need to reach me, and to do that, you need to do something else first. And what Halloween would be complete without some trick-or-treating?" Once it finished that question, jack-o'-lantern shaped buckets appeared in everyone's hands, and Jack told us all, "To reach me, you need to gather ten pieces of candy, which can be gathered at any house in Halloween Town. But it's not as easy as it sounds. You see, in each house there will be a monster and a piece of candy. To get the candy, you need to defeat the monster. Groups of you can band together to defeat the monsters, and if you do, everyone in your group will get a piece of candy. But only one of you can receive the grand prize, which is of course yours truly. The monsters you fight will be progressively harder as you gather more candy, and once you have all ten pieces you must go up to the pumpkin patch in front of the mansion and fight a mini-boss, and once you've done that, you must select one person from your group to enter and do battle with me. If they fail, another person can then challenge me, and if they fail, another can, and so on. The same person can challenge me twice, but only after everyone else has had a go, and you will need ten more pieces of candy, which you won't be allowed to gather until everyone in the contest has had a swing at old Jackie, and the contest won't be over until someone has defeated me and won. Have fun, monsters!" Jack then burst into flame and disappeared, and everyone started to get into groups. I turned to Rhea and Max and held up my bucket, then asked them both, "Want to go trick-or-treating together?" Rhea giggled and nodded, and Max just replied, "I guess it doesn't make a lot of sense to go it alone. Alright." We all then set off for the closest house.

And there it is. Don't worry, I'm posting another chapter with the contest, so this won't be a cliffhanger. Until then, everybody!


	21. Treats

Hello everyone this is IndigoWerewolf with the next part of the Halloween chapter. I am not sure yet how long this will be so there may be a third part, but it may also end here. With that said, I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! Let's read!

Last Chapter:

I turned to Rhea and Max and held up my bucket, then asked them both, "Want to go trick-or-treating together?" Rhea giggled and nodded, and Max just replied, "I guess it doesn't make a lot of sense to go alone. All right." We all then set off for the closest house.

Now:

Rhea, Max, and I walked up to the nearest house, while all of the other groups did the same with other houses. We walked up to the front door and Max tried to open it, but it was locked, so I rang the doorbell. Once the sound died down, a ghostly voice whispered, "Password?" To which Rhea replied, "Trick-or-treat?" The door swung open with a creek, and we walked inside. The house was dark, with cobwebs and dust everywhere. "Where's the monster?" Rhea asked, and Max replied, "Before we go looking for it, we should figure out how we're going to fight it. We can't equip our weapons when we have our costumes on, remember?" I turned to him and asked, "We can't?" Max shook his head no, and I swore under my breath and told him, "We'll just have to use our Abilities. You guys do have some combat ones, right?" They both nodded, and we all heard a thumping sound coming from upstairs. The three of us walked up the stairs slowly, all with a sense of trepidation. We reached the upstairs hallway and followed the thumping noise to a huge bedroom, where the closet door was shaking. I walked over, feeling fear grow in my gut, and put my hand on the knob. As soon as I did, the door burst open, knocking me on my butt, and a twisted, painted face burst out, laughing crazily. I screamed in terror and scrambled away from the thing, and hid behind Rhea shaking. The monster stood in front of the closet, and it chuckled lowly as a health bar appeared over its head, and Max asked, "Is that Saggi the Dark Clown?" The monster laughed loudly and charged up a sphere of dark energy in its hands, then launched it at us. We scattered, and I charged up Shadow Darts on the pointer, ring, and middle fingers of both of my hands, then fired all six of them at the horrific clown, thankfully not ripping my costume.

The six projectiles tore through the Spellcaster-Types body, and its health bar went down to zero and it dissolved into light and was absorbed into me. I collapsed to the ground shaking and took deep breaths, trying to recover from the scare I had just experienced. Rhea walked over and put her arm around me, rocking me back and forth to comfort me, and Max told me, "Jeez Kara, get up. Just because you're dressed like a little kid doesn't mean you have to act like one." Rhea and I both stared daggers at him, and he coughed and asked, "So, um, where's that candy?" We all looked around, and Rhea said, "Over there. It's on the bed." We all looked to the bed, and sure enough, there was a black bowl with three pieces of candy, in pink wrappers with white bands across them diagonally. We all grabbed a piece and put them in our buckets, and left the house. We all walked up to another house and entered, again saying the password, and went up to the same room, and sure enough, the closet door was shaking. None of us walked up, and Max looked to me and jerked his head towards the door. I gave him an incredulous look and whispered, "No. I did it last time, you do it." Max shook his head no, and Rhea and I pushed him towards the closet. Reluctantly, he walked up to it and opened the closet door. For a moment, nothing happened, but then we saw three slitted eyes in a triangle pattern open, and a small monster jumped out, knocking Max to the floor. He punted it off and a health bar appeared over its head. It screeched and started climbing up the bed, where it crouched on top of the canopy and looked down warily. "Sangan!" I shouted, and it screeched and launched itself at Max again. He held up his fist and it covered itself in stone, and he punched the Fiend in the face. Its health bar depleted down to less than half and it scrambled around the room until he stomped on it with a foot also covered in stone. Its health bar went down to zero and it was absorbed into Max, who said, "Gotta love Stone Fist." As the stone receded from his hand. We grabbed our candy and left for the next house.

We walked up and rang the doorbell, once again telling the voice, "Trick-or-treat." We entered the house and walked up to the same room, to see the same closet door shaking. This time, Rhea walked up to it and opened the door, to see a wooden ventriloquist's dummy holding a large ax sitting limp inside. Its head slowly turned towards her, then it jumped at her with the ax outstretched, as a health bar appeared above its head. "The Malice Doll of Demise!" Rhea shouted, and she dove out of the way and the ax got stuck in the floor. While it tried to get it out, she held out her palm and a glowing silver feather appeared in her hand, sharp as a knife. The Doll of Demise wrenched its weapon out of the floor and dove at her. She dodged out of the way and as it passed her, she threw the feather at its back, exclaiming, "Silver Feather!" The attack lodged in its back and the Doll staggered as its health bar depleted down to about half and it turned around and threw its ax at her. She dodged as the ax dug itself into the wall behind her, and Rhea threw another silver feather at it, missing as well. Suddenly, it let out a creek from its mouth, and a spell card appeared behind it, showing a red figure with a blob of white energy emerging from it, which I recognized as the Ectoplasmer card. Suddenly, its health went down to a quarter of its full capacity, and a spirit of the Malice Doll of Demise flew at Rhea, striking her and knocking her down. "Rhea!" I shouted, and ran at the Malice Doll, striking it with a Shadow Palm and splintering its chest, causing its health to go down to zero as it dissolved into EXP and was absorbed into the two of us. I went up to where Rhea was laying on the ground and put her head in my lap, asking her, "Are you okay?" Rhea groaned and opened her eyes, replying, "I think so. I don't think anything's broken." She tried to sit up, but hissed and clutched her chest. "Lay down, you're hurt." I told her, and pulled some HealClover out of my Inventory, then told Max to turn around, which he did. I helped Rhea unzip her jumpsuit to see bruises over her sternum, which I applied the HealClover to. Once the bruises had disappeared, Rhea got redressed and we got our candy and left the house. While we walked down the street, I told them, "Guys, we can't just keep fighting them one-on-one like this. If we want to fight these things and not get hurt, we need to all fight these monsters." We all agreed to fight them together, and walked up to the next house.

We entered the house and this time, I opened the closet, and a yellow-skinned fat man with short horns on his head and fangs jumped out. It wore a suit and was holding a sword that glowed with red energy. "Baron of the Fiend Sword!" I exclaimed, as it slashed at me. I dodged out of the way and Rhea threw a Silver Feather at it. The Fiend-Type deflected it, but it still gave Max and I a chance to move in and hit it with Shadow Palm and Stone Fist. Its health went down to zero and it was absorbed into each of us. Once we had gotten our candy, we left for the next house. We entered and went up to the bedroom, where the closet door was once again shaking. Max opened the door to reveal a huge red gargoyle with big claws. It roared and slashed at Max, who dodged and exclaimed, "It's Ryu-Kishin Powered!" Rhea and I launched Silver Feather and Shadow Dart attacks, respectively, at it and it turned towards us and charged. We got out of the way and as the Fiend passed us, I struck it in the side with a Shadow Palm, drawing its attention long enough for Max to punch it with Stone Fist. Its health went down to about forty percent, and I charged up a strong Shadow Dart and sent it through its head, sending its health down to zero and causing it to dissolve into EXP. We got our candy, making five pieces each, and left the house. We entered another one and walked up to the bedroom to see the closet door shaking. Rhea opened it to reveal a suit of spiky purple armor holding a big sword standing inside. Suddenly, it swung its sword down at Rhea, who dodged out of the way. It ran towards her as she exclaimed, "Its Gil Garth!" I launched four Shadow Darts at it to draw its attention, and it charged at me, but was interrupted by Max slamming a Stone Fist into its side, depleting its health bar down to eighty percent. It staggered as I ran at it and struck it with a Shadow Palm, depleting its health bar some more. It turned towards me and charged and swung its sword, but I dodged and struck it with another Shadow Palm, sending its health down even more. Rhea threw another Silver Feather at it, piercing its head and sending the last of its health down to zero, causing it to dissolve into EXP. We all panted as we tried to recover from the fight, and Rhea remarked, "These are starting to get tough." We all nodded in agreement and got our candy, for a total of six pieces, and left for another house.

We entered and went up the stairs to the bedroom to see the closet door rattling again. I opened the door, charging up a Shadow Palm in my hand in preparation, to see a green-skinned figure with samurai armor and an arrow in its shoulder. It groaned and swung a katana at me, which I dodged and struck it with my Shadow Palm, staggering it so that Max could strike it with Stone Fist. It swung its blade at him, cutting his arm and making him hiss in pain. Rhea and I both launched our attacks at him, and its health went down to zero as it dissolved into EXP. I gave Max some HealClover and we got our candy, making seven pieces, and left. We entered a new house and went upstairs to see the closet door shaking. Max opened it, and we all saw a purple-skinned dragon with rotting flesh inside. It roared and exhaled a yellow fog at Max, who dodged out of the way as the fog rolled over the bed, causing it to rot and collapse. "Dragon Zombie!" I shouted, then told Max, "Max, its breath is corrosive. Let us handle it, melee attacks are a really bad idea, if you punch it, you could puncture its lungs and the whole room will dissolve!" Max growled and dodged another attack as Rhea and I launched our ranged attacks at it, drawing its attention and causing it to let out another fog of acid at us. We dodged and launched our attacks at it again, depleting its health completely and causing it to dissolve into EXP. We then got our candy, for a total of eight pieces, and left for the next house, where we faced off against the Fiend Megacyber and got our ninth pieces of candy.

We got our tenth pieces by defeating a Dark Necrofear and walked up to the mansion at the far end of town. We were alone in doing so, as we saw the other Players running from house to house, still gathering candy. "Looks like we're the first ones here." Max remarked, and as we reached the pumpkin patch, I remembered something, and asked Rhea and Max, "Didn't Jack say there was going to be a mini-boss?" As soon as I was finished, we felt a rumbling sound coming from the ground, and green vines sprouted from the ground, along with a gigantic pumpkin with a crown on its head. A jagged line appeared in the middle of the pumpkin, and split open to reveal a mouth, and a single eye appeared above it. It roared at us, as two health bars appeared above its head, and a wall of fire encircled the pumpkin patch. "Yup." Max replied, and we all scattered as its vines shot at us. We scattered as the tendrils shot around the patch, and I saw Max struggling with the vines, both of his fists covered in stone. I launched ten Shadow Darts, five from each hand, from my fingers, striking the Zombie-Type boss. The assault only diminished the first health bar a little, and as I was charging up another volley, a tendril wrapped itself around my waist, jerking me up into the air.

*Warning: Lemon Alert*

A vine wrapped around each of my wrists and ankles, suspending me in the air spread-eagled. It did nothing else and let me struggle for a moment, and while I did so, I thought to myself, 'Why isn't it doing anything? Isn't it supposed to be killing me or something?' I tired myself out quickly and simply hung in the air, panting. Pumpking chuckled at my futile efforts to free myself, and more of its tendrils started to encircle me. These ones weren't binding me however, in fact, I could swear they were feeling me up. Some of them found the zipper on my back and undid it, and I jerked forward and asked it, "Hey, what the heck are you doing?" The tentacles ignored me however, and entered my costume and started to slide over my body, as I wasn't wearing anything underneath it. I squirmed in the air as they moved over me, and out of the corner of my eye, I could see Rhea in a similar situation. Eventually, some of the tentacles found my breasts and started groping and squeezing them. I thrashed around, trying to get them to put me down, but all it did was make them more eager. One of the tentacles slid down and started prodding at my pussy. "Hey, stay out of there!" I shouted, and it withdrew. Thinking it was done, I sighed in relief as the tentacles continued roaming over the rest of my form. I was wrong however, as I saw more vines emerge from the bottom of the giant pumpkin, these ones ending in bulbous growths that looked suspiciously phallic. Some of the new tentacles moved towards me, more going over to Rhea, and they entered the zipper on my back. The new tentacles felt softer than the others, made of some sort of fleshy vine, and felt slimy, lubricated with some sort of slippery fluid as they probed my body, searching for something, and I found out what as they reached my pussy. I blushed as they poked at the outside, looking for my entrance, and vainly tried to close my legs, but was stopped by the tentacles holding them. Suddenly, one of them plunged inside me, and I screamed as it started plunging in and out of my depths. My screams were silenced however, by one of the phallic tentacles shoving itself into my mouth and pumping in and out in the same manner that my pussy was receiving. I felt my face grow hot as my mouth and pussy were fucked, and it only grew hotter when I felt another tentacle move to my breasts and thrust in between them. Suddenly, I heard gasps coming from the ground, followed by screams, and more Players were lifted into the air and fucked by the tentacles, all female and all dressed as different monsters, some of whom I recognized as White Magician Pikeru, Ebon Magician Curran, Injection Fairy Lily, Dark Magician Girl, Wynn the Wind Charmer, and St. Joan, along with others I didn't recognize. Suddenly, I felt a tentacle thrust into my backdoor and start thrusting in and out of my ass, and I screamed around the one in my throat.

The tentacles plunged in and out of me relentlessly, fucking my body with reckless abandon, and as they did, my body started heating up, the penetration no longer feeling uncomfortable or unwanted, but instead becoming very pleasurable. I moaned around the tentacle in my mouth, and started actively sucking on it, bobbing my head back and forth. More tentacles showed up, these ones moving towards my hands, and pressed themselves into my palms. Knowing what the mini-boss wanted, I took them in my hands and started stroking them, feeling the vines pulse in my hands. Suddenly, the monster moved me into a bent position, with my ass at an equal position with my head, and started thrusting faster. I moaned loudly with half-lidded eyes as the monster continued fucking me, and I saw the other girls enjoying themselves as well, and more Players on the ground battling the monster, all males, and none with much success. Suddenly, the tentacles started thrusting faster and harder, and I moaned at the increased stimulation. I felt the tentacles shove themselves as deep inside me as they could and hold there, pulsing, and all of a sudden, I felt them shoot a warm, viscous liquid inside me, and I moaned at the warmth and came explosively, my body shuddering as the boss' cum squirted into me and on my chest and face, and it groaned loudly. The tentacle in my mouth shot the liquid down my throat, and I moaned at the taste, finding it akin to pumpkin pie filling. The tentacles continued their assault of my body, and kept going for a long time, bringing themselves to three more orgasms, and me four. After a while, I heard someone shout, "I summon WereBeast Wolfman, and equip it with Axe of Despair and Black Pendant!" At that, the tentacles holding me dissolved, and I fell to the ground, along with all of the other girls who it had caught. I got to my hands and knees shakily, my costume soaked in cum, and looked up to see Max put three cards in his deck with a blush on his face.

*Lemon Over*

My eyes widened as I realized that Max had defeated the mini-boss, and asked him, "Max? You defeated Pumpking?" He nodded wordlessly, and helped me and Rhea to our feet, and I zipped my costume back up. All around the pumpkin patch, the girls who had been captured by Pumpking were getting up. Once everyone was on their feet and as clean as they were going to get, I asked the group, "So who wants to take on Jack first?" At that, most of the girls in the group groaned. They started muttering about being too worn out to fight, and most left, saying they were going to bed. The boys stood there awkwardly, and asked each other if they would have to fight Pumpking again, and if there were no girls, if it would take them. Most winced at the idea, and left too, until it was just Max, Rhea, and I standing in the pumpkin patch. I turned to them and asked, "So who's first?" Rhea told me, "I'm going to need a minute. You two settle who goes first." At that, she laid on the ground and started sleeping. I turned to Max, who told me, "You have a better chance than I do. After all, I used up my one monster summon for the dungeon. You go first." I nodded and left my candy bucket with them, then walked shakily into the mansion, my steps growing steadier as I went. I walked up to the door of the mansion with sure footing and swung the door knocker, beating it against the door three times. It creaked open slowly, and I entered the big mansion, finding it pitch-black. Oil lamps lit themselves along the walls, forming a path to another large door

I walked down the hall, the large building with its creepy decor, combined with the childish style of my costume and my short stature serving to make me feel like a child again, despite the tingling feeling between my legs from Pumpking's assault. I pushed the large double doors open, and saw a large cavernous entrance hall, at the end of which was a throne with none other than Jack the Lantern sitting in it. He turned his pumpkin head when he saw me, and exclaimed, "Well hello there. You must be the lucky Player. It's a pleasure to meet you face-to-face. Speaking of which, my apologies about Pumpking. He's such a boor." My cheeks burned at the memory, and I told him, "Don't mention it. Like, really don't mention it." Jack chuckled and stepped off his throne, telling me, "Now, let's do battle, shall we? But first, it wouldn't be much of fight if only one of us could use a weapon, now would it?" Once he had finished talking, my dagger appeared on my hip, with the belt over my costume. I pulled it from its sheath and asked him, "How did you do that? I thought we couldn't equip weapons while we were wearing our Halloween costumes?" Jack chuckled and told me, "That's just data, kid. And data can be changed. Now, shall we?" He asked the last question while pointing his scythe at me, and a health bar appeared over his head. I took on a fighting stance and told him, "Let's." And ran towards him. He rushed at me as well, and our weapons clashed as we did battle. We fought a deadly dance, our blades sparking as they struck each other. I jumped backwards and launched a Shadow Dart at him, which he deflected with his scythe and chuckled, then told me, "You're going to have to do better than that." His eye holes widened as I rushed at him, my hand outstretched with a strong Shadow Palm charged up in my hand.

I struck him directly in the face, sending him staggering back with his health bar depleted to ninety percent. "Not bad, kid. But how about this?" He shouted, and swung his scythe and sent a wave of flame at me. I dodged it and it passed by harmlessly, dissipating before it reached the floor or walls. We rushed at each other again, dagger and scythe colliding over and over, our strikes never reaching their targets. We both jumped back panting, and Jack told me, "Well, you're better than I thought. But you're not good enough!" He rushed at me, but I dodged and ran way. I spotted a tapestry of a pumpkin patch leading up to the ceiling, and an idea started forming in my mind. I grabbed it and started climbing, quickly getting out of reach of Jack's scythe.

*Jack's POV*

I growled as she climbed into the rafters, and started pacing the room, asking, "Come out, come out, wherever you are." Suddenly, I heard a whistling sound coming from above me, and looked up to see the little one diving down at me with her dagger in her hands. A big grin stole over my face and I thrust my scythe blade upwards, piercing the child in the stomach. I chuckled as I told her, "Nice try, kid." I then noticed that something was off, however, and pulled back the head to see that the kid wasn't in her costume!

*Kara's POV*

I watched his face as he realized that I had just sent my costume down, and dove at him, Shadow Palms charged up in both of my hands, which I slammed down onto his head, depleting his health bar to zero. He fell back as his scythe clattered to the floor, and as he slowly dissolved into EXP, he told me, "Nice work kid. You got me, so you win the contest, and my card. I'm yours kid, Happy Halloween." He dissolved fully as he finished speaking, and was absorbed into me as his card fell to the floor. I picked it up and put it in my deck, then got my costume back on. I then left the house and went up to Max and Rhea, the latter of whom was still sleeping, and told Max, "It's done." Max turned to me and asked, "You beat Jack the Lantern?" I nodded and showed him the card, and he sighed and said, "Well, guess this was a big waste of time." I looked down at the bucket of candy, still where I left it, and remarked, "Maybe not." I picked up my bucket and looked in, then showed him the inside and told him, "We've still got our candy." Max snorted and told me, "That's just a holiday item. It's not actual candy." "Then why is it still here?" I asked him, and he picked up his own bucket. I took a piece of candy out of my bucket and opened the wrapper. Instantly, a big torrent of various candies materialized and filled the bucket to overflowing. Max looked at my bucket and unwrapped a candy of his own, and a similar flood of candy filled his bucket. "I guess it is real candy." He remarked, and we unwrapped the rest of the candies, putting the candy it materialized into our Inventories. Once Rhea woke up, we told her about the candy and she did the same as us, and we all left for Tutorial Village.

We all reached the Village and stepped into the Warp Panel, going to our respective Apartments. Once I got to mine, I was too tired from the tentacles and fighting to change, so I just flopped into bed in my costume and went to sleep.

And there it is, the Duel Monsters Virtual Halloween Special! It's got everything a Fanfiction reader could want, action, lemons, and more action. Until next time!


	22. Old Faces

Hello everyone, this is IndigoWerewolf with the next chapter of Duel Monsters Virtual. Before this story begins, I want to say that I am sorry for focusing so much on this story and not updating the other ones, but I have a bit of writer's block with them. Until I can think of where to take those stories, I will be focusing on this one, and as always, I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh, so let's read!

I woke slowly and stretched my arms and legs, then pulled a face at the stickiness that covered my costume. I got out of bed and stripped it off, then pulled off the sheets and blanket from my bed and put them all in the wash. After that was done, I stepped into the shower to wash the residue from last night off my body. Once I was satisfied that I was clean, I stepped out and toweled off. Not a moment after I had however, my Band started flashing. It wasn't flashing any particular color, just white, so I knew it wasn't a video call, so I tapped my Band. Instantly, a message appeared in front of me, telling me, "Greetings Ms. Akaroe, you are cordially invited to the opening day of Sunny Beach Resort, the newest hotel/tourist destination in the virtual world, formerly Card Forest." There was also a picture of a beach with a big white hotel building behind it. What was on the building made me gasp however, as on big blue letters on the top was the words, "Pye Hotel and Casino". I gritted my teeth as I remembered my last encounter with the Pye family, along with their goal. With a sense of trepidation I quickly got my clothes and cloak on, then stepped onto the Warp Panel and exclaimed, "Tutorial Village!" Nothing happened however, so with a sense of fear I said, "Card Forest." Nothing happened again, and I clenched my hands and quietly said to myself, "Sunny Beach Resort."

Blue light washed over my vision and cleared, and I found myself standing in the middle of a square in front of a beach with white sand. The sun beat down on me hard, and I shielded my eyes as I realized my cloak was probably a bad idea here. I stowed it in my Inventory and walked up to the Pye Hotel behind the square. I walked in and looked around, seeing that it looked like a typical beach hotel, but with less people. Suddenly, a man in a dark suit walked up to me and asked me, "Kara Akaroe?" I replied to him, "Yes, why?" He told me, "My name is Jameson. I was told to expect you by Mr. Pye. Please follow me." He turned around and walked towards a door marked 'Employees Only'. I followed him through the door and into a glass elevator, through which I could see the almost-deserted dungeon, and all the shops and stands, and asked him, "Did Sunny Beach Resort used to be Card Forest?" He looked down at me, then forward and told me, "I'm sorry to say that it was. Mr. Pye won control of it from Aona the Amazon and transformed into what you see here." I clenched my fists and asked, "Would Mr. Pye's first name happen to be Harold?" Jameson nodded in confirmation and told me, "I understand you had a previous encounter." I replied to him, "That's a polite way of putting it. Why did he do all of this?"

"Money." Was his answer, and Jameson continued, telling me, "The Pye family has always been incredibly wealthy, with each generation adding to their fortune more than the last, but with the new frontier that is the virtual world, they are struggling to adapt. Mr. Pye is determined to break ground on it." I clenched my fists in anger and told him, "He's ruining it. The virtual world isn't supposed to be some sort of tourist trap. This is wrong." Jameson sighed and told me, "I agree, but Mr. Pye is blinded by his greed." I looked to him and asked, "Why do you work for him, then, if you think this is wrong?" Jameson explained to me, "I have worked for Mr. Pye for his entire life. I was originally his personal bodyguard, and his only friend. I may not always agree with what Mr. Pye does, but I'll always stick by his side, and be there if he needs me. And right now, he needs me more than ever. Almost all of his other employees, people he trusted and felt he could call friends, quit and abandoned him when he made Sunny Beach Resort." I remarked, "Wow, that's actually really sweet." Before either of us could say anything else, the elevator doors opened to reveal a huge office with a man standing at the end staring out the window.

My blood boiled as I walked towards him, but I stopped when he spoke. "Isn't it beautiful, Kara?" I clenched my fists and exclaimed to him, "No it isn't you dick! How could you do this?" Harold chuckled and said, "Kara, Kara, Kara. You just can't see the big picture." He turned around and continued, telling me, "Sunny Beach Resort is the push that's going to propel the Pye family back on top. And I will be the person to push it." I told him, "You make me sick. You don't care about being a Player, you just want to make money." He told me, "Yes and no. Once upon a time, I had true aspirations of being a Player, however my family had other ideas. They wanted me to fight financial battles, not virtual ones. So I abandoned levels and quests in favor of pursuing financial success, and this hotel is going to bring it to me." I asked him, "If that's so, then why isn't anyone here?" Harold frowned and turned back, telling me, "Oh, people will come. They have to." He whispered the last part to himself, and I asked, "How many people did you invite here?" Harold turned back to me again and told me, "If you must know, I invited every Player in this zone." I didn't know what he meant by zone, but I didn't let it show and asked him, "And how many have come here?" He told me, "All of them, however they all left after about a half hour, and bought nothing, nor did they use any of the services available." I then asked him, "You see? Players aren't drunk tourists on vacation, they don't want to come here. This is a waste of your time and effort. You should just put Card Forest back the way it was." Harold scoffed and told me, "I'm not an idiot Kara. Sunny Beach Resort is going to put my family back on top where it belongs, and you have no say. I'm the Dungeon Master of this dungeon now, and you can't do shit about it."

I told him, "Well if you're the Dungeon Master, then you have to accept all challenges to that title, like the one I'm declaring now! I challenge you for control of Sunny Beach Resort!" Harold smiled and told me, "Well, since I don't have much choice in the matter, I accept. However, I propose that we skip the combat and just get right to the duel. I just had this suit dry-cleaned, you see." I materialized my duel disc and told him, "Fine by me." He then materialized his duel disc, and it was different than what I had seen before. It had a big gear for the main body, with five smaller gears for the arm. The border of the gears were gray, with the main color being silver. "You like it? It's the duel disc of a Machine-Type Player, like me. I always admired machines, you see. They're the perfect workers. Diligent, tireless, attentive, efficient, and they require no pay. So naturally, I made my Type Machine." I rolled my eyes and told him, "Nice backstory, now let's start this thing!" We both put our decks into our duel discs and simultaneously exclaimed, "Let's Duel!"

And that's the chapter. Don't worry, the duel will be in the next chapter like always, but until then, read and review! But no flames!


	23. Like Father, Like Son

Hello everyone this is IndigoWerewolf with the next chapter of Duel Monsters Virtual. This chapter will contain the duel between Kara and Harold Pye, but I do not want to spoil anything so let's read and I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

Harold and I both drew five cards and he told me, "Ladies first." "If you insist." I replied, then drew another card and looked at my hand. In my hand, I had Plushy Wish, Pink Plushy Rabbit, Heart of Clear Water, Plushy Rune, and Black Pendant. 'I can't do much right now,' I thought to myself, then picked two cards out from my hand and continued, 'But that doesn't mean I can't do anything.' I then told Pye, "I summon Pink Plushy Rabbit in attack mode!" I put Plushy Rabbit's card on my duel disc and it appeared on the field with 600 ATK and 500 DEF, then told him, "Now I place one card on the field face-down and end my turn." I then slid Plushy Wish into my spell card zone. Harold drew a card and told me, "I summon Mechanicalchaser in attack mode. Then I'll place one card face-down and end my turn." His Machine-Type appeared on the field with 1850 ATK and 800 DEF, and a face-down card appeared behind it. I drew a card and thought to myself, 'Why didn't he attack? My Rabbit has a lot less ATK points than his Mechanicalchaser. He must be setting up for something big.' I then looked at my card and saw that it was Silver Button. I slid it in my spell slot and told him, "I place one card on the field face-down and end my turn." Harold drew a card and exclaimed, "Mechanicalchaser, attack her Pink Plushy Rabbit with Buzz Saw Blaze!" His monster rushed toward Plushy Rabbit with its saw buzzing, but before it reached my monster I exclaimed, "I activate Pink Plushy Rabbit's special ability! When it's the target of an attack by one of your monsters, I can switch it into defense mode!" My Rabbit covered its eyes with its paws before it was destroyed, and Harold growled and told me, "I end my turn."

I drew a card, seeing it was Plushy Factory, and told him, "I activate Plushy Wish! You see, if a Plushy monster on my side of the field was destroyed last turn, I get to draw a card, and if it's a Plushy, I get to add another one from my Deck to my Hand." I then drew another card and looked at it. It was Plushy Bat, and I smirked and showed it to him, telling him, "Sorry, but it was a Plushy. Now I get another one from my Deck." I then took my Deck out and looked through it, then selected Plushy Pillow and put it in my hand, then shuffled and replaced it in my duel disc. I then told him, "I now summon Plushy Bat in defense mode!" My monster appeared on the field, a small bat made of cloth with button eyes with 750 ATK and 900 DEF, and told him, "And now I'll activate Plushy Bat's Special Ability. You see, once per turn, I can flip up one of your face-down cards and look at it, and since you only have one card face-down, that's the one I'll choose!" His face-down card flipped upwards, revealing that it was Trap Jammer. I was confused for a moment until I realized, "You thought I was going to play a trap." I said to myself, to which he replied, "Yes, I assumed that the face-down card you played on your first turn was a trap, so I took steps accordingly." I smirked and told him, "Well then, I guess I'll do some planning of my own." I then slid Plushy Rune into my spell zone and told him, "I activate Plushy Rune!" My card appeared on the field, a purple arcane rune stitched into a blanket. I explained to him, "This spell allows me to destroy any spell or trap card on the field. And I think I'll destroy your Trap Jammer!" His card shattered and mine disappeared, then I told him, "Now I end my turn."

Pye drew a card and told me, "You may think you have the upper hand now, but I'm going to show you not to mess with the Pye family." I growled at him and told him, "The only reason I'm here is because you tore down the Card Forest for...this!" I gestured out the window towards the beach outside, still empty, and continued, "You destroyed the only place new Players could come to better themselves, and I'm going to put it back the way it is!" I told him, and he gritted his teeth and told me, "You think you know just about everything, don't you? Well you don't. You have no idea how much pressure is put on me by my family to succeed, to make money, to bring my family greatness. You can never know, but you don't care about any of that. All you care about is some stupid Noob dungeon!" I tightened my jaw and told him, "So in addition to being a jerk, you're also a pushover. I don't care what your family says, I'm not letting you ruin the virtual world! Now take your turn." Harold scoffed and told me, "My words are wasted on you. It seems I will have to make you understand then." He then put a card in his monster zone and told me, "I summon Mighty Guard in defense mode!" His monster appeared on the field crouched down with its arms crossed in front of it, and he then slid a card into his spell zone and told me, "I now activate Machine Duplication, which lets me summon two more Mighty Guards to the field." Two more of the same monster appeared next to the first, and he then exclaimed, "Now, Mechanicalchaser, destroy her Plushy Bat with Buzz Saw Blaze!" His monster rushed at mine, but before it connected, I exclaimed, "I activate the Silver Button trap card!" My face-down card flipped up, revealing a button made out of silver. A big silver button appeared in front of my Plushy Bat, and his Mechanicalchaser struck it and was destroyed. I explained to Harold, "My Silver Button activates when a Plushy monster on my side of the field is destroyed, and it automatically destroys every monster on your side of the field that's in attack mode." He growled and told me, "I end my turn."

I then drew a card and saw that it was Plushy Knight. I smiled to myself and told Harold, "I sacrifice my Plushy Bat so that I can summon Plushy Knight!" My Bat disappeared to the field, to be replaced by Plushy Knight, with 1300 ATK and 1100 DEF, and I told Pye, "And since I summoned Plushy Knight using a Plushy as a sacrifice, he gains 600 ATK points!" My Knight's ATK went up to 1900, and I then placed Plushy Factory in my field spell slot and told him, "And since you're so fond of machines, I think I'll activate Plushy Factory, which lets me special summon one Plushy monster from my hand once per turn, and all my Plushys gain 300 ATK and DEF." The stuffed machines and conveyor belt of Plushy Factory appeared around us, and I told him, "And I'll use it to summon Plushy Pillow in defense mode!" My monster appeared next to Plushy Knight, with 200 ATK and 2200 DEF, which changed to 500 ATK and 2500 DEF, and my Plushy Knight's changed to 2200 and 1600, and I told Harold, "And thanks to his special ability, you can't attack any other Plushy monster on my side of the field as long as it's on it. And as an extra precaution, I equip my Plushy Pillow with Heart of Clear Water!" I slid the spell into my spell card zone and told Pye, "This equip spell prevents any monster with 1300 or less ATK from being destroyed in battle, or by monster effects, or spell and trap cards." I then pointed at the Mighty Guard on the far left and told my Plushy Knight, "Now, destroy his Mighty Guard with Sewn Sword Slash!" My monster destroyed his, and I told him, "Now I end my turn." Pye drew a card and told me, "Nice move, but not nice enough. I sacrifice my two Mighty Guards to summon Slot Machine." His two monsters disappeared from the field, and were replaced by the giant Machine-Type, with 2000 ATK and 2200 DEF. I asked him, "Why would you summon that? It doesn't have enough ATK points to destroy Plushy Pillow, even if it wasn't equipped with Heart of Clear Water." Pye smirked and explained to me, "Kara, once again you show your ignorance of my family. You see, the Slot Machine is a sort of Pye family heirloom. It was the preferred monster of my great-grandfather, the greatest Pye who ever lived. He made his fortune in casinos, you see, so he made the Slot Machine monster into a sort of emblem for the Pye family, and it's what's going to win this duel for me. I equip Slot Machine with the spell card '7 Completed', to increase its ATK by 700." He slid the card into his disc and it appeared in front of him, and his Slot Machine's ATK went up to 2700.

I told him, "It doesn't matter how high his ATK points are, it still can't destroy my Plushy Pillow since it's equipped with Heart of Clear Water, and because of its special ability, you can't attack any other Plushy on my field." Pye smirked and told me, "That may be, but this monster has never let me down before and it won't now. It's only a matter of time. But in the meantime, it's your turn." I drew a card and saw that it was Re-Sewn. I smirked and told Pye, "I activate the Re-Sewn spell card, which lets me bring one Plushy monster from my graveyard back to my hand, and I choose Pink Plushy Rabbit!" My spell appeared on the field, showing a Plushy Soldier having a tear in its stomach being sewn up, and I withdrew my Plushy Rabbit's card from my Graveyard and placed it on my duel disc and told Pye, "Now I'll summon it to the field in attack mode." My Rabbit appeared on the field with 600 ATK And 500 DEF. I told Pye, "Now I end my turn." Pye drew a card, but before he could say anything, the elevator dinged and the up arrow lit up, signaling that someone had just arrived. I turned to Pye and asked him, "Are you expecting anyone?" He shook his head no, but before he could say anything, the door opened and Jameson and an old man came out. He had sparse white hair and liver spots on his scalp, wearing a gray suit and walking with a cane, and he asked the room, "What's this? What's going on here?" Harold caught his breath and said, "Father." I asked him, "That's your dad? He's ancient." The old man scowled and asked Harold, "Harold, who is this whelp? And why are you two dueling?" Harold tugged on his collar and nervously told him, "Father, t-this is Kara Akaroe, the girl I told you about, and she challenged me for control of Sunny Beach Resort, so that she can put it back to the way it was." The man scowled again and ranted, "That's so typical of you, Harold. Letting commoners walk all over you. Grow some spine, idiot boy!" Harold flinched, and I glared at the old man and told him, "Hey, ease up on him. He didn't have a choice in the matter, Dungeon Masters have to accept any challenge to their title." Pye Senior pointed his cane at me and told me, "No one is talking to you, little girl. Now go play with your dollies and leave business to the men." I wrinkled my nose and told Harold, "Nice dad you've got." Pye smiled slightly, and Senior growled and told him, "Stop smiling, boy. Now finish this commoner!" Harold flinched and told him, "Yes, father."

Before he could say anything else however, I told him, "Hang on a second, Harold." I then turned to Pye Senior and told him, "You know, I used to think that Harold was just a selfish jerk who didn't care about anything but himself, but now I see that everything he's done is to please you, which honestly seems impossible. Instead of pushing him into everything, what do you say you pick up this duel for him? If you win, I stay a week at Sunny Beach Resort and after that, I leave you all alone. But if I win, the Card Forest comes back and you and every other Pye except Harold leaves the virtual world and never comes back, and Harold is free to pursue his dream of being a Player." Senior laughed heartily and asked, "You? Defeat me in a duel? That'll be the day." I smirked and taunted him, "If you're so confident, why not accept? Unless you're scared of losing to me and my dollies." Senior grinned and told me, "Well, I've got a few hours to kill before my 4:00, so why not? After all, if you want something done right, it's best to do it yourself." He then walked up to Harold, whose duel disc materialized on his own arm, and took his place across from me while Harold and Jameson stood to the side. "Now I believe it was turn." I nodded and Senior looked at his hand, then told me, "I activate the spell card Dark Factory of Mass Production, to bring my Mechanicalchaser and a Mighty Guard back to my hand." His monsters appeared in his hand, and he told me, "Now I'll summon Mechanicalchaser to the field in attack mode and end my turn." His monster appeared on the field, and I drew a card, to see that it was Plushy Cage. I slid it into my duel disc and told him, "I activate Plushy Cage, to keep your Slot Machine from attacking or changing its battle position!" My card appeared on the field, showing a cage made from cloth entrapping a Plushy Soldier, and the same cage appeared around the Slot Machine. Senior frowned, and I pointed at Mechanicalchaser and exclaimed, "Now, Plushy Knight, destroy his Mechanicalchaser with Sewn Sword Slash!" My monster rushed at his Mechanicalchaser, and with one slash, it was gone, and Senior's Life Points dropped to 3650, and I told him, "I end my turn. Your move, gramps." Senior drew a card, and told me, "I attack a second 7 Completed to my Slot Machine, to give it 700 more ATK points. That'll do." His monster's ATK went up to 3400, and I drew a card.

I saw that the card I had just drawn was Patchwork Plushy. I smirked and told him, "I summon Patchwork Plushy in attack mode!" I placed my monster on my duel disc and it appeared on the field, with 1600 ATK and 1200 DEF. I told Senior, "And thanks to her special ability, she gains 300 ATK points for every Plushy monster on the field, including herself." My monster's ATK went up to 3000, and her DEF increased to 1700, and I told Senior, "Your move." He drew a card, then looked at it and told me, "I summon Mighty Guard in defense mode, then place a card face-down and end my turn." His monster appeared with 500 ATK and 1200 DEF, along with a face-down, and I drew a card of my own, and saw that it was Plushy Princess. I smirked and told Senior, "I summon Plushy Princess in defense mode." I placed her card on my duel disc and she appeared on the field with 900 ATK and 800 DEF, which changed to 1200 and 1100, and I told Senior, "And since there's another Plushy on the field, my Patchwork Plushy gains 300 more ATK points." My Patchwork Plushy's ATK went up to 3300, and I slid my Black Pendant into my spell zone and told Senior, "And now I equip Patchwork Plushy with Black Pendant, which increases its ATK points by 500!" The necklace appeared on my monster, and her ATK increased to 3800. I then pointed at his Slot Machine, still in its cage, and exclaimed, "Now Patchwork Plushy, destroy his Slot Machine!" My monster rushed at Slot Machine and slammed her paw down on it, destroying it and lowering Senior's Life Points down to 3550. "I end my turn." I told him, and he drew a card and told me, "I activate the Time Machine trap, to bring back Slot Machine!" His face-down card flipped up, revealing the trap card, and Slot Machine re-appeared on the field with its ATK at 3300. He told me, "And now I'll equip Slot Machine with another 7 Completed, to raise its ATK by 700." He then slid a card into his duel disc and it appeared on the field, and Slot Machine's ATK went up to 4000. He then pointed at my Patchwork Plushy and exclaimed, "Now Slot Machine, destroy her Patchwork Plushy!" His monster rushed at me, but before it could destroy it, Plushy Pillow intercepted it and his monster returned to its normal position.

Senior looked at me in astonishment and asked, "What's going on? Why wasn't your monster destroyed?" I smirked and explained, "Oh yeah, you weren't here for that part. Well gramps, while my Plushy Pillow is on the field, you aren't allowed to attack any other Plushy monster besides it. And thanks to the Heart of Clear Water I equipped to it, it can't be destroyed in battle." He growled and told me, "I end my turn." I nodded and drew a card, to see it was Plushy Conversion. I pointed at Mighty Guard and told Patchwork Plushy, "Now Patchwork Plushy, destroy Mighty Guard!" My monster slammed her paw down on his, and it was destroyed. I then told Senior, "And now I end my turn." Senior drew a card and told me, "I play a face-down and end my turn." I drew my own card, and saw that it was Plushy Spirit Box. I broke out into a wide grin as a plan formed in my mind, and I told Senior, "First, I activate the effect of Plushy Princess, to summon Plushy Whale from my deck." My Plushy Whale appeared on the field with 800 ATK and 2200 DEF, which went up to 1100 ATK and 2500 DEF, and my Patchwork Plushy's ATK increased to 4100. I then told Senior, "Now I activate Plushy Whale's ability. See, once per turn, he can destroy a spell or trap card on the field, so I choose your face-down card!" My monster spouted blue string from its blowhole, and it covered his face-down and destroyed it. I slid Plushy Conversion into my duel disc and told him, "Now I activate Plushy Conversion, now all monsters on the field become Plushys!" His Slot Machine turned into a Plushy with a puff of smoke, and I slid Plushy Spirit Box into my duel disc and told Senior, "And finally I'll activate Plushy Spirit Box. Here's how it works, first I sacrifice my Patchwork Plushy," My Patchwork Plushy's zipper opened and a ghostly stitched-together hand came out, and she crawled into the box, and I continued my explanation as the hand came out and pulled the rest of our monsters into the box, telling Senior, "Next I sacrifice every other Plushy monster on the field and summon Plushy Neko Girl!" All of the monsters were pulled into the box, and Plushy Neko Girl appeared in a beam of light, with 1000 ATK and 1200 DEF, which increased to 1300 and 1500, and I told Senior, "Finally, she gains the ATK points of every Plushy monster sacrificed to summon her, and in case you didn't know, that's 10,300!" My Neko Girl's ATK increased to 10,300.

Senior backed up worriedly, as I told him, "This duel is over!" I then pointed at him and told Plushy Neko Girl, "Now Plushy Neko Girl, attack the old man directly!" My Neko Girl rushed at him with her fist cocked back and slugged him in the gut, causing him to double over in pain as his Life Points went down to 0.

And that's the story. Sorry about not updating recently, but I had to go to the dentist's yesterday and get two fillings, which sucked, and I didn't have a lot of free time today, but I finished it and will continue it later. Until next time, read and review, but no flames!


	24. Plants and Zombies

Hello everybody, this is IndigoWerewolf with the next chapter of Duel Monsters Virtual. This chapter will not be immediately after the duel between Pye Senior and Kara, it will be a timeskip of a little bit afterwards, so if it doesn't make a lot of sense at first, that's why. Also, if you have any ideas for new Plushy cards, monsters, spells, or traps, please leave a review with a description of it. And to the person who left that review on this story, I'm not even going to dignify it with a response. You know who you are. With that said, let's read and I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

I sighed in contentment as I looked down at the Card Forest, once again returned to its former glory, from on top of a tall hill. I grabbed a strawberry from the picnic basket and popped it in my mouth, chewing it slowly to savor the fruit. Next to me, Max munched on a sandwich as he told me, "I still can't believe you gave Aona back control of Card Forest without a fight." On my other side, Rhea rolled her eyes as she swallowed a bite of apple and remarked, "That's the fifth time you've said that, Max. We get it already, now stop talking about it." Max glared at her for a moment but said nothing, then turned to me and asked, "Still, why did you do it? You do realize that Dungeon Masters get Coins whenever a quest is put up that involves their dungeon, right?" I swallowed my strawberry and told him, "Yes, but they also get Players constantly challenging them. I could never handle all of those back-to-back duels. Besides, Card Forest belongs in the hands of someone who knows what they're doing, and I have no idea how to be a Dungeon Master."

Max opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, Rhea stood up and stretched loudly, then asked the both of us, "Hey, do you guys want to head out on a quest? I heard there was a bunch of new ones to celebrate Card Forest coming back." I nodded and Max scoffed and replied, "Whatever." We then packed up our picnic and I told them, "See you in Tutorial Village." I then flapped my wings and launched myself off the hill, working my wings to stay in flight. I flew over the treetops, gliding over the forest, using my tail as a rudder and flapping whenever I felt my momentum die. I relished the feeling of the wind whistling through my hair and tugging at my limbs. It was short-lived however, as I saw Tutorial Village below me, and angled my body downwards and tucked my wings in. I dove towards the ground, feeling the wind tug at my clothes, and before impact, I flared my wings out as far as they would go and flapped them to slow myself. It worked as my speed decreased almost instantly, and my feet touched the ground gently, albeit with a slight stumble.

I stood at the entrance to Tutorial Village for a while and waited for Max and Rhea, who ran into view about ten minutes later, panting with exertion. I walked up to them as they approached me, and once we were face-to-face, I jokingly asked them, "What took you so long?" Neither replied as they were both replied, and Max settled for flipping me the bird as they got their breath back. Once they had recovered enough to speak, Rhea told me, "You're getting pretty good at that Flight Skill, Kara. It'll probably become a Special Skill soon." I smiled and told her, "Thanks, but what's a Special Skill?" Max explained to me, "A Special Skill is one that a Player has used enough to master it. It can be combined with your other skills for new effects." I nodded in understanding, but before I could say anything, a voice behind me said, "Kara!" I turned around to see Harold Pye running towards me, wearing Noob Gear instead of his suit. When he reached me, I asked him, "Hi Harold, what are you doing here?" He smiled at me and told me, "I never got a chance to thank you for what you did. Thanks to you, my family can't stop me from being a Player anymore, and they're all leaving the virtual world alone." "So your dad is really sticking to that, then?" I asked him, and he nodded and replied, "My father may be a greedy asshole, but he's a man of his word." I smiled and remarked, "Well that's a relief." Harold nodded and took out a card from his Deck Holster and extended it towards me, then told me, "Anyway, I wanted you to have this." I took the card from him and looked it over, seeing it was an effect monster. It was a small robotic cat, made of black metal with blue paws and blue tubular bulbs for ears, with an electrical plug for a tail and a screen for a face with blue lights resembling eyes and a cat mouth on it. "Robo Kitten." I read off the top, and Harold nodded and told me, "I've had this card for a while, but I could never figure out how to play it right. I think it would work well with your deck." I looked up at Harold and told him, "Harold, you don't have to give me this. I was happy to help." I extended the card towards him, but he shook his head and pushed it back, telling me, "Take it. Like I said before, I can't play it to save my life, besides, I get the feeling it belongs with you." I smiled and placed it in my Deck Holster, and told Harold, "Thanks Harold, I really appreciate this." Harold smiled at me and told me, "I should be the one thanking you, Kara, you set me free. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a lot of EXP farming to do." We then said our good-byes and Harold went into the Card Forest. Meanwhile, Rhea, Max, and I headed into Tutorial Village to take a look at the Quest Board.

"Wow Rhea, you were right. There are a lot of quests on here." I remarked, looking over the Quest Board, almost every inch of which was covered in pieces of paper outlining different quests. "How do we decide which one to take?" Max asked us, to which Rhea replied, "I don't know. But it looks like only a couple of them we can do at our level." I looked over the Quest Board again and noticed she was right. Only two of the quests on the board were available for Players of our level, and both were three-person. I took them both down and looked them both over, reading the descriptions aloud for Max and Rhea. "There's a plant deep in Fiend Forest that Salazar needs for a potion, and a 'King of the Skull Servants' that's gotten out of hand in Decrepit Crypt." I looked at the second paper for a moment, then asked Max and Rhea, "What's Decrepit Crypt?" Rhea shrugged, but Max explained, "It's a dungeon, and it's crawling with Zombie-Type monsters." I nodded, and asked them, "Which one should we do?" Max asked in reply, "Why not do both? It's still early, you know." Rhea and I nodded, and we all took both of the quests, then after a moment of deliberation, set off for Fiend Forest.

We reached the area marked on the quest without too much trouble, and spotted the plant listed on it. It was a sinister-looking flower with dark purple petals and a black vine with blood-red thorns on the stem, and was in the middle of a barren clearing. "I don't like this," I told Rhea and Max, "It feels like a trap." Max started walking towards it, remarking, "Well, we're not going to finish the quest just standing here, let's pick this weed and be done with it." I ran after him, and just as he was about to pluck it, I slapped his hand out of the way and told him, "Are you an idiot? Someone with the Herbalism skill needs to pick it, or it's useless. I'll do it." I then bent down and plucked the flower from the ground. Almost immediately, we felt a rumble coming from the ground and a vine erupted from the dirt where the flower had been only a moment ago. It was purple, with small light green thorns. Suddenly, more erupted all around us, and one with a huge head emerged from the far side of the clearing. It vaguely resembled a venus fly trap, only rounder and with teeth. It had orange petals behind its head and two vines with orange flowers waving on other side of it. "Darkworld Thorns!" I exclaimed. A health bar appeared over its head as it roared at us, and Rhea and I geared up for a fight, but before we could do anything, Max took a card out from his Deck Holster and exclaimed, "I summon WereBeast Serpent!" His monster materialized in front of us and snapped at the giant Plant-Type. Its health bar went down to zero and it dissolved into EXP and was absorbed into Max.

As Max put away his monsters card, I muttered, "Well that was anti-climactic." Max shrugged and remarked, "We have the flower, don't we? Let's get it to Salazar and head over to Decrepit Crypt already." Rhea and I looked at each other and shrugged, and the three of us went back to Tutorial Village, where we delivered the flower to Salazar, who rewarded us with some potion recipes and Coins. Max gave me his recipes, stating that he wasn't interested in potions, and I saw that one was for a Health Potion that I could make with some HealClover. I did just that, Salazar letting me use his Potion Station, and we set off after I had made three Health Potions. The three of us stepped into the Warp Panel and each said, "Decrepit Crypt." Blue washed over my vision as we all teleported, and it cleared to reveal a graveyard, with us standing at the entrance to a huge mausoleum, which I assumed was Decrepit Crypt. We all entered, to see that it lived up to its name, the walls cracked and even falling apart in some places, the pillars damaged, with most of them knocked down. There were also a few weak Zombie-Type monsters shambling about. Rhea, Max, and I walked through, defeating random Zombies here and there, until we heard the sounds of a fight. I asked the others, "Do you hear that?" We stopped for a moment, analyzing the sounds. There were groans and moans, along with grunts of exertion and the sounds of blades clashing and flesh being torn. The three of us walked towards the sounds, and turned a corner to see a Player battling a hoard of Armored Zombies. He had a silver halberd, which he swung with surprising strength, the Zombie-Types falling like dominos to his blade. After a bit, there were no more enemies, and he turned around and noticed us, then started walking over.

As he neared us, I caught my breath in shock. He was missing part of his face, the right cheek completely rotted away, revealing teeth sharpened into points, and that wasn't all. His right arm and left leg were completely skeletal, with no muscles or skin at all. He was wearing Noob Gear with a leather gauntlet on his fleshy arm, with a blue-green Player band over it, and had shaggy black hair and vivid green eyes. As he neared us, he saw the look of shock on my face, and he jokingly asked me, "What's the matter, never seen a Zombie Player before?" In a slightly hoarse voice. I shook myself out of my surprise and replied, "Actually, no." He laughed and remarked, "Well, you can't say that anymore. Nice to meet you three, name's Samson." He extended his flesh-and-blood hand towards us to shake, which we each did in turn, and once we were all introduced, he asked us, "So what brings you warmbloods to Decrepit Crypt?" "Warmbloods?" I asked in confusion, and Samson explained, "It's just a term Zombie-Type Players use to describe non-Zombies." I nodded in understanding and told him, "We're on a quest to defeat the King of the Skull Servants that's gotten out of control here." Samson grinned and told us, "What a coincidence. I am too!" "You are?" Rhea asked, and he replied, "Sort of. I'm actually on a quest to get a special item, the Bone of the Wicked, for another Player, and it can only be found as a drop from the boss version of the King of the Skull Servants. It recently became the boss here so I figured I should take a crack at it." I asked him, "Well, since we share a common goal, why don't you team up with us?" Samson thought about it for a moment and told us, "Okay, why not?" Before anyone could say anything else however, Max hissed in my ear, "Can I talk to you two for a second?" He then tugged us a short distance away, and Rhea asked him, "What?" Max asked us, "Are we really going to take this guy with us?" "Yeah, why wouldn't we?" Rhea asked him, to which Max replied, "Because he could just ditch us once we get to the King of the Skull Servants and screw us over." I glared at him and told him, "He's not going to do that, Max. He seems like a nice guy." "Yeah, seems." He told me. I sighed and asked him, "Why would he ditch us? Four people can fight a boss better than one, and we all need to defeat it. Now stop being an asshole." Max growled but didn't protest any further, and we walked back over to Samson and Rhea told him, "Sorry about that. You ready to go?" He nodded, and we went further into the dungeon, defeating some Zombie monsters along the way, going much quicker than before.

We fought Zombie-Type monsters for a while longer, during which I leveled up. I chose the Dark Whip ability, which lets me make coils of dark energy and use them as whips to fight enemies. We went even quicker after that, my new ability giving us an edge, and we soon reached the chamber where the King of the Skull Servants resided. It was a cavernous room with a series of steps leading up to a marble coffin. There were also several Skull Servants wandering aimlessly around the room, doing nothing. Max's hand went to his sword, but I stopped him, and told him, "King of the Skull Servants gains one-thousand ATK points for every Skull Servant in the graveyard. Destroying these things will probably only make it stronger." Max grudgingly nodded and his hand left his sword, and we all walked up to the coffin. We all looked down at, none of us speaking, knowing that the monster we needed to fight was inside, until Samson told us, "We better get ready. Rhea, since your weapon is long-ranged, you had better get back to the far side of the chamber. Max, Kara, and I will fight it close-up." Rhea nodded and retreated to the far side of the room, and together, Max, Samson, and I pushed the door off of the coffin. Inside was a taller version of the Skull Servants that pervaded the room, and as we looked at it, a wave of dark energy pulsed from it and knocked us all down the steps. We landed painfully at the bottom and looked up to the boss, who rose from the coffin and said in a deep, hollow voice, "You were foolish to confront me. Now you die!" As it finished, three health bars appeared above its head and it screeched as another wave of darkness was emitted from it.

Max, Samson, and I all unsheathed our weapons and rushed at the Zombie-Type monster, and Max jumped at with his sword above his head, only to be backhanded by the boss across the room. He sat up rubbing his chin, and said aloud, "Ow, what the hell, I thought it had no ATK points." The King laughed and told us, "Foolish mortals, were you not aware of my special ability? Look around you, my servants give me power beyond your reasoning!" I told it, "But it only works if the Skull Servants are in the Graveyard!" It laughed and told me, "Look around you, tiny mortal! This entire dungeon is a Graveyard!" I caught my breath as I realized that it was far too strong for us, but my thoughts were interrupted by a piercing scream from across the room. I turned to the source to see that Rhea was swarmed by the Skull Servants, and was desperately trying to hold them back by swinging her bow at them. My eyes widened as I exclaimed, "Rhea!" I then ran towards her with my dagger outstretched, but I was too late as they overtook her. I used my Shadow Whip to sweep them all away from Rhea, to reveal that she had several deep cuts across her body. I dropped my dagger as I fell to my knees and grabbed her by her shoulders, shaking her in a desperate attempt to revive her. "Come on Rhea, wake up." I told her, and she opened her eyes and groaned. Relieved, I dug around in my Inventory for a Health Potion, but Rhea put her hand on mine and shook her head, telling me, "It's too late, Kara." Tears threatened to spill from my eyes as I told her, "Don't say that. You're going to be okay." Rhea smiled and coughed heavily, blood coming out and staining her shirt. She then started to glow, and tiny particles of her started floating upwards and blinking out of existence. "Don't go." I begged her, now openly crying, and Rhea smiled and told me, "Don't worry, I won't be gone long." Before I could ask her what she meant, the last of her disappeared. I stood there on my knees, staring at the spot Rhea had just been, trembling as tears fell from my eyes. Suddenly, the King of the Skull Servants' voice sounded out behind me, telling the room, "And so another mortal falls to my might. Let her demise be a lesson to you three." I felt rage boiling in my gut as I shakily stood up and turned to face him, my features contorted with anger.

"So you to wish to challenge me as well, mortal? Very well, destroy her!" The King commanded the Skull Servants, pointing at me. As the lesser monsters reached me, my vision was tinted red, and I charged up two powerful Shadow Whips in my hands and, as they neared me, lashed out at them, tearing them to shreds and destroying them instantly as my whips tore through them. I ran towards the King of the Skull Servants, the Shadow Whips trailing behind me, and as it summoned more Skull Servants, I tore them apart without stopping. Eventually, I reached the steps, and flew up them in anger. I reached the top and did battle with the King, relentlessly striking it with whips of dark energy. As its health bar neared zero, the King of the Skull Servants told me, "I may fall today, but I will not go down like this. I curse you, mortal, for all eternity!" It then spewed a green fog from its mouth, enveloping me as I shot my Shadow Whips straight through its chest, and I collapsed to the ground as it dissolved into EXP. My vision returned to normal and I coughed as the green fog entered my lungs, and a burning sensation enveloped me. As I crouched there, I was vaguely aware of Samson telling Max not to go near me. The feeling centered itself in my right arm, and it started to go numb. The feeling subsided after a minute, and I shakily got up. Samson went up to and asked, "Hey kid, are you okay?" "I think so." I mumbled, then clutched my head. My hand felt odd however, strangely thin and hard. I opened my eyes to see that my hand had become nothing but bones, and I pulled back as shock came over me.

"Calm down now, don't freak out." Samson told me, and I turned to him and exclaimed, "Don't freak out?! My hand is gone!" He lowered his hands in a calming motion and told me, "I think I know what happened. Now just calm down and open your Player menu." I took several deep breaths to calm myself down, and opened my Player menu to see that my Type had somehow been changed to Zombie. Samson took a look at it and remarked, "Just as I thought." He then explained to me, "The mist he used on you is called 'Necro Curse'. It's a rare Zombie-Type ability that changes a Player's Type to Zombie." I felt my eyes water as I said, "So Rhea's dead and I'm halfway there." Samson shook his head and told me, "Rhea's fine Kara, she's probably respawned by now." I turned to him and asked, "Respawned? What do you mean?" Samson explained, "In the virtual world, Players who are defeated in battle respawn in the beds in their Apartments. Rhea's fine, Kara." My eyes widened as I processed his words, and I bolted out of the room, running as fast as my legs would take me. Samson and Max called out behind me, but I ignored them as I ran. As I ran, I opened my map to see that I wasn't too far from Tutorial Village, Decrepit Crypt being just past Fiend Forest. I closed my map and kept running, not stopping until I had reached Tutorial Village, and I stepped onto the Warp Panel and exclaimed, "Rhea's Apartment!" Blue washed over my vision as I was teleported, and I ran into the bedroom to see Rhea sitting up in the bed. She smiled when she saw me, and said something that I didn't hear as I sobbed and ran into her arms, embracing her tightly. She embraced me back and brought me under the covers as I sobbed, until unconsciousness washed over me.

And that's the chapter. This is actually a concept that I had wanted to do for a while, and I am personally proud of this chapter, but please tell me what you think. Until next time, read and review, but no flames!


	25. The Type Tourney

Hello everyone this is IndigoWerewolf with the next chapter of Duel Monsters Virtual. Before I start, I just want to say that this will be another timeskip, so be prepared for that. I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh, let's read!

I sat at a table in the Inn in Tutorial Village, along with Max, Rhea, and Samson. Since my Type had been changed, I had lost my Flight Ability and currently had no wings. I was nursing a glass of water and trying not to look at my skeletal hand while the others drank lemonade. Suddenly, I asked them all, "So what do I do about this? No offense to you, Samson, but I don't want to be a Zombie." Samson grinned and told me, "None taken. And all you need to do is find a DNA Surgery card and you can change your Type back." Rhea then remarked, "Easier said than done, those cards are pretty rare. Don't you have one, Max?" She turned to him as she asked, and he looked up and told her, "Not anymore, they're one-use items. Why not just buy one?" Max asked me, and I told him, "I tried, but Horace doesn't have any in stock, and neither does Salazar." While we had been talking, Samson had a thoughtful look on his face, and once I had finished, he told me, "There may be another way." Max, Rhea, and I all looked at him, and I asked, "What do you mean?" Samson turned to me and told me, "There's a duel tournament going on today, the Type Tourney. It has an Ability Card for the Dual-Type ability as the grand prize. If you win, you'll be able to get that ability. You won't be able to get rid of the Zombie Type, but you can make Fairy your primary Type, and have Zombie be secondary." I processed his words for a moment, during which Rhea remarked, "I've heard of that tournament. Players are matched up according to Type, right?" Samson nodded, and told me, "It's your only option right now."

I nodded and stood up, then told him, "Then I guess I'm entering. Where is it?" Samson grinned and told me, "It's at the Tournament Arena. You can get there through the Warp Panel." The four of us then paid for our drinks and left the Inn. We walked towards the Player District and stepped onto the Warp Panel, where we all entered Tournament Arena, a huge coliseum with a banner saying, "Type Tourney." Along with a registration table. Samson and I both signed up for the tournament, and when I asked him why he was entering, he told me, "To make things interesting." I rolled my eyes and took my number, then Samson and I entered the waiting room, where we both waited until a voice told us to go into the Arena over an intercom. Once I got out there, I was surprised how many people had shown up to watch. I was pulled out of my thoughts however, by a man's face on a giant screen, told the crowd, "Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the third annual Type Tourney, where Players of every Type are matched against each other in a duel! This year, we have a very special prize, a Dual-Type Ability Card! The winner of this tournament will have a second Type by the time we're done. Now, let's duel!" The screen then changed to tournament brackets, which showed who everyone was up against.

I went over to my space and started the duel. It didn't last long, and neither did any of the others, who's Decks seemed more focused on using monsters of their own Type than actually working with the other cards in them. The final round was me against Samson, and we both moved into the final duel arena, which was on a big raised platform. We faced each other in the arena, and Samson told me, "I won't be a pushover like all of the others here, Kara." I smiled and told him, "I know, but I don't intend to lose." He grinned and told me, "Neither do I, now let's get this started." We then both materialized our duel discs, both of them having skulls for the main body and bones for the arms, with his being blue-green and mine purple. Before we drew our hands, the announcer exclaimed, "It's the final duel in the third annual Type Tourney, and in an unexpected twist, both of the final competitors are Zombies! So without further ado, let's let these undead duelists duke it out!" We both then drew five cards, and simultaneously said, "Let's Duel!"

And that's the chapter. Sorry about it being so short, but the next chapter will be the duel and I don't want it to be overly long because of it. Until next time, read and review, but no flames!


	26. A Deathly Duel

Hello everyone this is IndigoWerewolf with the next chapter of Duel Monsters Virtual. As promised, this chapter will contain the duel between Samson and Kara. I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh, let's read!

Samson and I both drew five cards, and he told me, "I'll take the first move if you don't mind." He then drew another card, then placed one in his spell zone and told me, "I activate the Foolish Burial Spell card, to send Clown Zombie from my Deck to my graveyard." Samson's spell appeared on the field and he took the monster from his deck and placed it in his graveyard. He then placed a card in his monster zone and told me, "I now summon Zombie Mammoth in attack mode!" His monster appeared on the field with a bellow, with 1900 ATK and 0 DEF. "You see, if I summon Zombie Mammoth while there aren't any Zombie Type monsters in my graveyard, then it's destroyed immediately." Samson explained, and he then placed a card in his field spell slot and told me, "And now I activate the field spell Necro Mist!" Wisps of greenish mist started circling around the field, and Samson explained, "Thanks to the effect of Necro Mist, all Zombie Type monsters gain 300 ATK points, and that's not all. At the end of every turn, if there's a monster on the field that's not a Zombie-Type, it's destroyed." I caught my breath as his monster's ATK went up to 2200, and Samson told me, "I now place one card face down and end my turn." Samson then placed a card in his spell zone.

I drew a card and looked at my hand, which contained Plushy Whale, Heart of Clear Water, Plushy Cage, Re-Sewn, Rainbow Thread, and Plushy Fairy. I grinned as I told Samson, "I summon Plushy Whale in defense mode!" I then placed Plushy Whale's card in my monster zone and it appeared on the field with 800 ATK and 2200 DEF. I told Samson, "And thanks to his special ability, he can destroy one spell or trap card on the field, and I'm choosing to destroy your Necro Mist!" Samson grinned as he told me, "I don't think so. Go, Gorgon's Eye!" His face-down card then flipped up to reveal the trap card, and Samson explained to me, "Thanks to this trap card, all the effects of monsters in defense mode are destroyed this turn." I growled as I told him, "Maybe, but remember, it only lasts one turn." Samson grinned and told me, "One turn is all I need. Thanks to Necro Mist, your monster is destroyed at the end of this turn." I smirked and placed Heart of Clear Water in my spell zone, then told him, "I don't think so. I equip Plushy Whale with Heart of Clear Water!" My spell appeared on the field and Plushy Whale glowed with a blue light, and I explained to Samson, "You see, thanks to the effect of Heart of Clear Water, if a monster has less than 1300 ATK points, it can't be destroyed in battle, by spell or trap cards, or by monster effects, so Plushy Whale is here to stay. With that, I end my turn." Samson drew a card, then told me, "I summon Snake Hair in attack mode!" His monster appeared on the field with 1500 ATK and 1200 DEF, and its ATK increased to 1800. "Now I activate the spell card Rusted Armor, which destroys one equip spell on the field." He told me, and his card appeared on the field, showing a suit of rusted and corroded armor. My Heart of Clear Water shattered and the glow surrounding Plushy Whale vanished. Samson ended his turn and the coils of his Necro Mist enveloped my Plushy Whale and destroyed it.

I drew a card and saw that it was Negate Attack. I placed it in my spell zone and told Samson, "I place a card face down and end my turn." Samson nodded and drew a card of his own, then told me, "I sacrifice Zombie Mammoth to summon Grotesque Ghoul in attack mode!" His Zombie Mammoth vanished from the field, to be replaced by a skeletal zombie with leathery brown skin and wild black hair with. It had one eye and the bottom half of its jaw missing, and it was a Dark Zombie and had 1000 ATK and 900 DEF. Samson told me, "And on the turn it's summoned, Grotesque Ghoul isn't affected by any spell or trap cards, so it won't gain the ATK point bonus from Necro Mist, but it also can't be affected by your face-down card, so Grotesque Ghoul attack her Life Points directly!" His monster rushed towards me with surprising speed and swiped me with its overgrown nails, and my Life Points went down to 3000. He then pointed at me and exclaimed, "Now, Snake Hair, attack her Life Points as well!" His other monster lunged at me, but I told him, "I activate my trap, Negate Attack, which not only stops your attack in its tracks, but also ends the battle phase!" His monster returned to its original position, and Samson told me, "I end my turn." I nodded and drew a card, to see that it was Plushy Target. I looked at Samson, thinking, 'This card, it might help me, but only if he has the monster I think he does. Based on his deck however, it's a safe bet.' I placed it face-down and told Samson, "I place one card face-down and end my turn." Samson drew a card of his own and told me, "I sacrifice Grotesque Ghoul so that I can summon Vampire Lord!" His Grotesque Ghoul left the field and was replaced by Vampire Lord, and its ATK increased to 2300. I narrowed my eyes and thought to myself, 'There's the monster I needed him to summon. Why does he keep sacrificing his monsters though? Sure, he's getting stronger ones, but why sacrifice them so often?' Before I could contemplate it properly, he exclaimed, "Now I activate the effect of Last Arrow!" He slid a spell card into his disc and it showed a quiver with one arrow in it, and Samson explained to me, "Whenever I equip a monster with Last Arrow, it can't be stopped from attacking this turn, but it's the only one that's allowed to attack. Now Vampire Lord, attack Kara's Life Points directly!" His Vampire Lord rushed at me with claws outstretched and swiped at me, and I cringed as my Life Points fell to 700. Samson explained to me, "And thanks to Vampire Lord's special ability, I can declare a type of card, then you have to take one card of that type from your deck and send it to your Graveyard, and I choose a Trap card!"

I then told Samson, "Sorry, but I activate Plushy Target!" My card flipped up, revealing a trap showing a Plushy Soldier with a target on its chest. I explained to Samson, "Plushy Target lets me redirect any effect that targets a type of card and switch it to a different one, so I choose to send a spell card to my Graveyard!" I then took out my deck from my duel disc and scoured it for the card I wanted. Once I found it, I took it out and placed it in my graveyard, then shuffled and replaced my deck. Samson growled and told me, "I activate the spell card Quick Summon, which lets me summon one more monster this turn!" His card appeared on the field and he told me, "I sacrifice Snake Hair to summon Zoe the Banshee in attack mode!" His monster appeared on the field. It was a spectral woman floating a few inches above the ground, her legs lost in the folds her ink-black dress. Her arms were milky-white, like the rest of her skin, and uncovered by sleeves. Her hair was as dark as her dress, and floating around like she was underwater. Her face was elegant, with jet-black lipstick and solid black eyes, with no iris or sclera. She had a dreamy look on her face, as if she were sleepwalking, but had no smile. She was a Dark Zombie with 5 stars, 1000 ATK and 1300 DEF. Samson told me, "And thanks to Zoe's Special Ability, every Zombie-Type monster on the field gains 600 ATK points. But it doesn't end there. She also gives every Dark Attribute monster 400 ATK points, so my Vampire Lord gains 1000 ATK points!" His Vampire Lord's ATK shot up to 3300, and Zoe's ATK shot up to 2400. Samson told me, "Unfortunately, she can't attack this turn thanks to Last Arrow, so I end my turn. Hope you make this turn count, Kara."

I drew a card, and saw that it was Patchwork Plushy. I smirked at Samson and told him, "I intend to. I summon Plushy Fairy in attack mode!" I placed Plushy Fairy's card on my monster slot and she appeared on the field with 900 ATK and 500 DEF. Samson chuckled and told me, "That monster has no chance of standing up to Vampire Lord." I told him, "She doesn't have to. I activate her special ability, which lets me retrieve a spell card from my Graveyard once per turn." I took the card I wanted from my Graveyard, and I placed it in my field spell slot. "And I'm activating it now. I activate Plushy Cemetery!" I told Samson, and the field changed to show a huge purple sheet that covered the dais our arena was on, interspersed with open gravestones made from buttons. I told Samson, "Thanks to the effect of Plushy Cemetery, every Plushy monster on the field and in my hand goes to the Graveyard." Plushy Fairy disappeared from the field, and I put Patchwork Plushy's card in my Graveyard. Samson's eyes widened and he asked me, "But why would you use a card that sends almost all of your monsters into the Graveyard? And why hasn't Necro Mist disappeared?" Samson looked around the field as he asked that, as his field spell hadn't dispersed. I replied, "Because Plushy field spells don't cancel out field spells that are already on the field, they change them so that their effects only apply to Plushys." Vampire Lord's and Zoe the Banshee's ATK went down to 3000 and 2000 respectively, and I continued, telling Samson, "And thanks to Plushy Cemetery, once per turn, I can summon one Plushy monster from my Graveyard, so come forth, Patchwork Plushy!" I raised my hand as I exclaimed that, and my monster emerged from the nearest grave. It was different however, with its button eye hanging loose on its face, and with tears here and there across its body. I told Samson, "She may not look like herself right now, but that's because any Plushy summoned from the Graveyard with the effect of Plushy Cemetery becomes the Zombie Type, so she gains the boost from Necro Mist and Zoe the Banshee." My Patchwork Plushy's ATK went up to 2500, and I told Samson, "And I also activate my Rainbow Thread spell card." I slid Rainbow Thread into my spell zone and it appeared on the field. I explained to Samson, "Thanks to this spell card, every Plushy monster on the field becomes whatever Attribute I choose, and I choose Darkness, so Patchwork Plushy also gains ATK points from Zoe the Banshee." My Patchwork Plushy's ATK went up to 2900, and I told Samson, "Now I activate Plushy Cage, to stop your Vampire Lord from attacking or switching into defense mode!" I slid Plushy Cage into my spell zone, and a big cage made from cloth surrounded Vampire Lord. I told Samson, "And now I end my turn."

Samson drew a card and told me, "I activate the spell Dragged Down into the Grave. Now we each must select one card from each other's hands and send them to the Graveyard." Samson's hand appeared before me, and I chose to discard his Spirit Reaper. Samson discarded my Re-Sewn since it was the only card I had left in my hand. He then ended his turn, so I drew a card and saw that it was Plushy Spirit Box. I smirked and told Samson, "I activate the effect of Plushy Cemetery. You see, when I have the Ritual Spell Plushy Spirit Box in my hand, I can send it and the Plushy Neko Girl in my deck to my graveyard." I then took Plushy Neko Girl from my deck and sent it to my graveyard, along with Plushy Spirit Box. I told Samson, "And now I summon Plushy Neko Girl to the field." Plushy Neko Girl emerged from the same grave that Patchwork Plushy had come from, with rips and tears dotting her body, and her ATK went from 1000 to 2300, and I told Samson, "My Plushy Neko Girl gains the ATK of every Plushy in my Graveyard once it's summoned with Plushy Cemetery." My Plushy Neko Girl's ATK went up to 4000, and I told Samson, "And now that there's another Plushy on the field, Patchwork Plushy gains 300 ATK and DEF points." Once I had finished speaking, Patchwork Plushy's ATK went up to 3200, and I told Samson, "And now I activate the final ability of Plushy Cemetery. Once per turn, I can send one Plushy Monster from my deck or hand to my graveyard." I then withdrew my deck and took out Plushy Fly Trap and put it in my Graveyard, then shuffled and replaced my deck. As I did do, I told Samson, "So I'm sending Plushy Fly Trap to my Graveyard, and Plushy Neko Girl gains 1800 extra ATK points." My Plushy Neko Girl's ATK went from 4000 to 5800, and I pointed at Vampire Lord and exclaimed, "Now Plushy Neko Girl, attack Vampire Lord!" Plushy Neko Girl rushed toward Vampire Lord and slugged it in the gut, and it shattered as Samson's Life Points dropped down to 1200. I then pointed at Zoe the Banshee and told Patchwork Plushy, "Now Patchwork Plushy, destroy Zoe the Banshee with Plushy Paw Pummel!" My Patchwork Plushy rushed at Zoe the Banshee and smashed her paw down on her, and she was destroyed as Samson's Life Points dropped to 0.

And there's the chapter. Sorry about not updating sooner, but things have been kind of crazy lately and I didn't have time. Until next time, read and review, but no flames!


	27. Plushys and Puppets

Hello everyone this is IndigoWerewolf with the next chapter of Duel Monsters Virtual. I am sorry about not updating this story, or my other stories, in about six days, but things have been kind of crazy for me lately, and I'm updating now, so let's read, and I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

As the crowds cheered my name and my duel disc retracted back into my Band, I walked up to Samson and asked, "Need a hand?" He looked up to me and smiled, then told me, "I'm fine. Congratulations, champ." Suddenly, a circular space in the middle of the arena opened up and a podium rose out of it, with a single card on it. Samson and I both walked up to it, and I saw that it had the left half of the Fairy-Type symbol on it on the left, and the right half of the Fiend-Type symbol on the right. I picked it up, smiling, and held it above my head.

*Timeskip*

I slashed my dagger through a Tyhone monster's head, and it dissolved into EXP before me. As it disappeared, I slowed my wings and let myself drift downwards until I alighted gently on the ground on the balls of my feet. Next to me, Max scoffed and muttered, "Show off." I rolled my eyes and didn't respond as Rhea giggled and told him, "Quite complaining Max, just because you can't fly doesn't mean Kara's a show-off." Max told her, "Oh come on, Rhea. Ever since Kara got her Flight ability back, she's been rubbing it in our faces." I told him, "Well sorry Max, I haven't been trying to rub my Flight skill in your face, I'm just relieved to have it back." Max crossed his arms and told me, "Well fuck you to-" Suddenly, he cut himself off and asked me, "Were you just polite to me?" Confused, I asked him, "Yeah, why?" Max looked astounded as he said, "But you're never polite to me. Ever since we met, we've been at each other's throats." I told him, "Well, I don't have a lot of friends in the virtual world, so I figure I shouldn't be rude all the time to one of the few I have." That statement only seemed to surprise Max even more and he asked me, "You consider me a friend?" I told him, "Well we do Quests almost every day and hang out all the time, so yeah."

Max didn't respond, and after a moment seemed to snap out of it and said, "Okay then." He didn't say anything else, and walked away, telling us over his shoulder, "Come on, these monsters aren't going to defeat themselves!" Rhea and I both shared a look, then shrugged and started to follow him, but before we took more than two steps, a deep voice behind us sounded out, "Are you Kara Akaroe?" Rhea and I turned around to see a tall figure in a long brown cloak. Warily, I told him, "Yes, who are you?" The figure told me, "My name is of no importance, what is important is that we duel, here and now." Surprised, I asked him, "Why do you want to duel me?" The figure replied, "That is not important, what is important is why you should want to duel me." Confused, I asked him, "And why should I want to duel you?" In response, the figure held up a card and told me, "I understand you're fond of Plushy monsters. Well I just happen to have one in my hand right now, and some spells and traps you may be interested in. What do you say we duel for them?" I was about to decline, but before I could, I felt a deep wave of sadness pass over me, emanating from the card in his hand. I got tunnel vision, and I could feel fear and despair coming from it, and I could tell that this figure was the cause. I gritted my teeth in anger as I materialized my duel disc, and told him, "You're on, but before we duel, I'm going to need a name to go by." The figure chuckled and withdrew the card back into his cloak and told me, "You may call me Homun." Homun then materialized his duel disc, but it was different than others I had seen before. The main body was circular, with devil horns on one side and a spade-shaped tail on the other, curved upwards. The arm was shaped like a wing, like mine, but a bat's instead of an angel's. It had black for the main color with rust-red for the trim. He hid his hand with a black glove, and I couldn't see the rest of his arm due to his cloak. "Do you like my duel disc?" Homun asked, then told me, "It belongs only to Fiend-Types, like myself."

We both put our decks into our duel discs, but before we could start, Rhea told me, "Kara, don't duel this guy. He's trouble, I can tell." In response, I told her, "Me too, but I have to duel him." "Why?" Max asked, and I looked to Homun and told them, "That monster he showed me. I don't know what he did to it, but I do know that I have to get it away from him." Before either of them could protest further, Homun and I both exclaimed, "Let's Duel!" And both drew five cards. "I'll take the first move, if you don't mind." He then drew another card, then placed one on his duel disc. "I summon Forgotten Plushy Imp in attack mode!" He exclaimed, and his monster appeared on the field. It was a Dark Fiend with 300 ATK and 500 DEF, and was a small grey demon with an overly-large head, button eyes, and a tail that curved up its body until its head, but what really got my attention was that it was stuffed. I caught my breath and asked, "Is that a Plushy monster?" Homun laughed and told me, "No, it's a Forgotten Plushy monster. Similar to a Plushy, but as you'll see soon, they're far more sinister." I looked closer at the monster, and saw that it was ragged and dirty, looking indeed like a stuffed animal someone had forgotten about. Behind me, Max scoffed and said, "Oh, 300 ATK points, we're so scared." I face-palmed and turned towards him, then said, "Max, Plushy monsters may have low ATK, but they all have tricky special abilities." I then turned back towards Homun's monster and continued, "And I'm guessing these Forgotten Plushys are the same way." Homun chuckled and told me, "They are, but you'll have to wait to see them, because I place two cards face-down and end my turn. Your move, Miss Puppet." Two face-down cards appeared on his field.

I drew a card and asked him, "What are you talking about? I'm no puppet." Homun chuckled evilly again and said, "So naïve." I rolled my eyes and looked at my hand, seeing that I had Terraforming, Plushy Soldier, Polymerization, Plushy Knight, and Plushy Dragon, and I placed Terraforming into my duel disc and told Homun, "I activate the spell card Terraforming, which lets me bring any field spell in my deck straight to my hand." My card appeared on the field and I took out my deck, then looked through it and took out the card I wanted, then shuffled and replaced my deck, then put the card I had chosen into my field spell slot, then told Homun, "I activate the field spell Plushy Castle, which-" Suddenly, Homun interrupted me, telling me, "I don't think so, I activate the trap card No-Man's-Land!" His face-down card flipped up, revealing a trap card with two fortresses with plain grass in between them. Homun explained to me, "No-Man's-Land is a trap that activates when a field spell is activated, and when I activate it, I can place it in my field spell slot and treat it as a field spell with no effects, and the best part is, no other field spells can be activated when this is on the field." I caught my breath as Homun took No-Man's-Land from his duel disc and put it in his field spell slot, and as my own field spell slot opened, I placed Plushy Castle in my Graveyard, then placed Plushy Soldier's card on the field and told Homun, "I summon Plushy Soldier in attack mode!" My Plushy Soldier appeared on the field with 800 ATK and 600 DEF, and I pointed at Forgotten Plushy Imp at told Plushy Soldier, "Now Plushy Soldier, destroy his Forgotten Plushy Imp with Sewn Slash!" As my Plushy Soldier rushed towards Homun's monster, Homun exclaimed, "I activate my second face-down card, Gilded Thread!" His second face-down flipped upwards, revealing a trap card with a spool of golden thread on it, and Homun told me, "I can activate this trap whenever a monster with the word 'Plushy' in its name is targeted for an attack, and it keeps my monster from being destroyed in battle for as long as it's equipped with it." I growled as the thread holding his monster together turned to gold, and I told him, "I may not be able to destroy your monster, but I can still take down your Life Points, 500 of them to be specific!" Homun chuckled and I asked him, "What's so funny?" Homun told me, "The fact that you think I would let you take down my Life Points. Thanks to Forgotten Plushy Imp's special ability, he gains 800 ATK points whenever he's equipped with another card." As his monster's ATK increased to 1100, I shouted, "Plushy Soldier, cancel attack!" My Plushy Soldier's sword stopped an inch from Forgotten Plushy Imp's head, and I breathed a sigh of relief as it returned to its position on my field, and I told Homun, "I end my turn."

Homun chuckled and drew a card, then placed another one on his duel disc and told me, "I summon Forgotten Plushy Phantom in attack mode!" His monster appeared on the field. It was a tall, thin figure in a ragged cloak with no visible face or legs, floating a few inches above the ground. It had 1100 ATK and 100 DEF, and Homun told me, "I now activate the second effect of Gilded Thread, which lets me switch one of your monsters into defense mode if I discard it to the Graveyard." He then removed his trap from his duel disc, and his Imp's appearance and ATK both went back to normal, and my Plushy Soldier crouched down. Behind me, Max scoffed and said, "That was stupid. Now his monster can be destroyed, and it loses its ATK point bonus." Rhea then told him, "Homun wouldn't do that if he didn't have a reason for it, Max." Homun chuckled and told the three of us, "I do. You see, Forgotten Plushy Phantom's special ability activates when it destroys a monster in defense mode. Once it does, the difference between its ATK points and your monster's DEF points is subtracted from your Life Points, and added to mine." He then pointed at Plushy Soldier and told his own monster, "Now Forgotten Plushy Phantom, destroy her monster!" His monster flew forward at mine and engulfed it into its cloak, and I saw a single button drop from it and disappear. I growled as my Life Points went down to 3500, and Homun's increased to 4500. He then pointed at me and said, "Now Forgotten Plushy Imp, attack her Life Points directly!" His monster rushed at me and swiped me with its claws, and as my Life Points went down to 3200, Homun told me, "I think you've suffered enough, so I'll just end my turn, Puppet."

I growled as I drew a card, and told Homun, "Not a puppet, but either way, I draw!" I then looked at my card and saw it was Plushy Pig I placed its card on my duel disc and told Homun, "I summon Plushy Pig in attack mode!" My monster appeared on the field with 900 ATK and 700 DEF, and Homun chuckled and asked, "And just how is that supposed to help you?" I told him, "You'll see. I activate the spell card Polymerization, to fuse the Plushy Knight and Plushy Dragon in my hand to summon Plushy Dragon Rider!" I shouted the last three words, and a big beam of light erupted in front of me. Out of it came my Plushy Dragon Rider, which admittedly just looked like Plushy Knight sitting on a saddle on Plushy Dragon's back. It was a Light Warrior with 2000 ATK and 1800 DEF. I then told Homun, "And now I activate Plushy Pig's special ability! By reducing his ATK points to zero, I can give them all to another Plushy monster on my field!" My Plushy Pig's ATK went down to 0, and my Dragon Rider's ATK increased to 2900. I then pointed at his Forgotten Plushy Phantom and exclaimed, "Now Plushy Dragon Rider, destroy Forgotten Plushy Phantom!" My monster flew over to his and grabbed it in its claws, then flew up and smashed down onto it, destroying it and lowering Homun's Life Points to 2700. He didn't react however, as I told him, "And now I end my turn."

Homun drew a card and placed on one his duel disc, then told me, "I summon Forgotten Plushy Necromancer in attack mode, then place one card face-down and end my turn." His monster appeared on the field, a stitched together robed figure with a skull-topped staff with its face hidden. It was a Dark Spellcaster with 1000 ATK and 600 DEF. A face-down card appeared on his field and he told me, "Draw, puppet." I growled and told him, "For the last time, I'm not a puppet!" Homun chuckled and told me, "Methinks she doth protest too much." I growled and asked him, "And just why am I a puppet?" Homun told me, "Because since the first minute you entered the virtual world, someone has been pulling your strings! And trust me little girl, I know a few things about getting your strings pulled." My eyebrows scrunched together in confusion at that, and I stared at him for a moment in confusion. I then noticed something. Just above his duel disc, I could see a sliver of flesh. As I looked however, it started too look less like flesh. It seemed too smooth, too perfect. It was also an entirely inhuman color, and the texture looked like, 'Wood. His arm looks like wood. Wait a minute, strings, wood, of course!' I thought, then pointed at him and told him, "If either of us is the puppet here, it's you! I know your secret!" Behind me, Rhea asked, "Kara, what are you talking about?" Without turning back to look at her, I said, "Your name, Homun, its short for Homunculus, isn't it? You're a puppet!" Homun didn't reply for a moment, then started chuckling, quiet at first, until it grew louder and louder, until he was roaring with laughter. Suddenly, he threw aside his cloak, revealing that he was indeed a life-sized wooden puppet, with no eyelids or lips, showing all of his eyes and teeth. "So you figured it out, did you?" Asked Homunculus, and he told me, "Yes, I'm a puppet. I guess it takes one to know one, eh, Kara?" I growled and told him, "I'm nothing like you." Homunculus chuckled again and told me, "Maybe not physically, but situationally, we're two peas in a pod." "And just how is that?" I asked him, to which he responded, "I was sent here by my creator to duel you, just as you have been jerked all around the virtual world by the one that shaped you." "And who would that be?" I asked, and Homunculus asked me in response, "Who else? Think about it, who controls almost everything in this world, believing himself a god in his big-shot office in the real world?" I put two and two together and muttered, "Seto Kaiba." Homunculus chuckled again and told me, "That's right. Seto Kaiba has been influencing you since you arrived here. He was the one that dropped you into the Card Forest in the air. It was Seto Kaiba who made you lose all of your cards, and sent the Man-Eating Treasure Chest after you, and it was Seto Kaiba who established the Reaper of the Cards as the boss of your quest in Fiend Forest. He has been pulling your strings since you first came here, and is doing so even now!" Homunculus then started cackling, and as I did, I lowered my head until none of the others could see the upper part of my face and smiled, then told him, "In that case, I guess I should thank him." Homunculus stopped laughing abruptly, and asked me, "What are you talking about?" I looked up at him and told him, with a determined look on my face, "If I had never gotten dropped into Card Forest, I never would have met Rhea. If I hadn't lost all my cards, I ever would have gotten my Plushys. If Seto Kaiba has been influencing me, then I don't care. It's not going to stop me from winning this duel." I then drew a card and looked at it, seeing it was Card of Sanctity. I slid it into my duel disc and told Homunculus, "I activate the spell card Card of Sanctity, so now we both draw until we have five cards in our hands." I drew five cards and Homunculus drew two, and I looked at the cards in my hand.

In my hand I had De-Fusion, Patchwork Plushy, Plushy Rune, Plushy Factory, and Plushy Spirit Box. I slid my Plushy Rune into my duel disc and told Homunculus, "I activate Plushy Rune, to destroy your No-Man's-Land." Homunculus withdrew the trap from his field spell zone and discarded it to the Graveyard, and I then placed Plushy Factory in my own field spell slot and told him, "Now I activate Plushy Factory, and now all my Plushy monsters gain 300 ATK points!" The cloth machine and conveyor belt of Plushy Factory appeared around us, and my Plushy Dragon Rider's ATK increased to 2300, and Plushy Pig's ATK went up to 1200. I then placed Patchwork Plushy's card on my duel disc and told Homunculus, "Now I summon Patchwork Plushy in attack mode, and thanks to her special ability, she gains 300 ATK points for every Plushy monster on the field, along with the 300 from Plushy Factory!" My Patchwork Plushy's ATK increased to 2800, but then continued to rise until it was at 3400. Surprised, I remarked, "Well, I guess your Forgotten Plushys count towards my monster's special ability." I then slid De-Fusion into my duel disc and told Homunculus, "I now activate the spell card De-Fusion, now I can send my Plushy Dragon Rider to my graveyard to summon Plushy Dragon and Plushy Knight!" My Dragon Rider glowed and split apart, to reveal Plushy Dragon and Plushy Knight standing side by side. I then told Homunculus, "And since there's one extra Plushy on the field, my Patchwork Plushy's ATK points go up again!" My monster's ATK increased again to 3700, and I then slid Plushy Spirit Box into my duel disc and told Homunculus, "Finally, I activate Plushy Spirit Box. Now I sacrifice my Patchwork Plushy, along with all of the other Plushys on the field, and summon Plushy Neko Girl!" The zipper on Patchwork Plushy's back opened, and she climbed into the box. The rest of my monsters were pulled into the box, and Plushy Neko Girl appeared in a beam of white light. Homunculus told me, "Sorry to disappoint you, but my Forgotten Plushy monsters can't be sacrificed by the effects of ritual spells!" I explained to Homunculus, "That doesn't matter because my Neko Girl still gains the ATK of every Plushy used to summon her!" My monster's ATK went from 1000 to 1300, and then from 1300 to 8700.

I then pointed at Forgotten Plushy Necromancer and exclaimed, "Now Plushy Neko Girl, destroy Forgotten Plushy Necromancer and end the duel!" As my monster raced towards his, Homunculus told me, "I don't think so. I activate the trap card, Lament of the Fallen!" His face-down card flipped up, revealing a trap card showing several ragged-looking stuffed animals, some I recognized as his monsters, and all sinister-looking and demonic, and Homunculus told me, "This trap activates when Forgotten Plushy Necromancer is the target of an attack, and when I activate it, I can sacrifice every Forgotten Plushy monster on the field to summon Forgotten Plushy Shinigami!" Just then, a detonation of dark energy imploded at the spot where his Forgotten Plushy Necromancer was standing, and I was momentarily blinded. When it cleared, I looked up to see a stuffed skeleton wearing a dark robe with no sleeves, holding a scythe as big as its body. It was a Dark Fiend with 0 ATK and DEF, and I asked Homunculus, "Why would you go all that trouble to summon one monster?" Homunculus told me, "Because that one monster gains all of the ATK of every Forgotten Plushy monster in my graveyard!" Suddenly, his monster's ATK skyrocketed to 2400. He told me, "And not only does my trap card bring out Forgotten Plushy Shinigami, but it also ends your turn, so it's my move!" He then drew a card and told me, "Now I activate the spell card Cheerful Coffin, to send the Forgotten Plushy Chimera, Forgotten Plushy Basilisk, and Forgotten Plushy Cerberus in my hand to the Graveyard!" He then discarded three cards in his hand to the graveyard, and his Shinigami's ATK went up to 6400. He then slid a card into his duel disc and told me, "Now I activate the equip spell Strike Button, to raise my monster's ATK by another 500!" A red button with a sword emblem appeared on its chest, and his monster's ATK increased to 6900. He then slid another card into his duel disc and told me, "Finally, I activate the spell card Mage Power, which gives my Forgotten Plushy Shinigami 500 ATK points for every spell and trap card on my side of the field!" His Shinigami's ATK went up to 7900, and he told me, "Since I have no other cards in my hand, I end my turn."

I drew a card, and saw that it was Black Pendant. I slid it into my duel disc and told Homun, "I equip Plushy Neko Girl with Black Pendant, to increase her ATK by 500!" The necklace appeared on my monster, and her ATK increased to 9200. I then pointed at Forgotten Plushy Shinigami and exclaimed, "Now Plushy Neko Girl, destroy Forgotten Plushy Shinigami!" My monster rushed towards his, and slugged it in the gut with all of her might. It wasn't destroyed however, and as his Life Points decreased to 1600, I asked Homunculus, "Hey, how come your monster wasn't destroyed?" He chuckled and told me, "Because Forgotten Plushy Shinigami can't be destroyed in battle." I growled and told him, "I end my turn." Homunculus then drew a card and slid it into his duel disc and told me, "I activate Soul Stitch, now for every Forgotten Plushy monster in my graveyard, my Forgotten Plushy Shinigami gains 300 ATK points!" His Forgotten Plushy's ATK increased to 11,400, and he pointed at my Plushy Neko Girl and exclaimed, "Now Forgotten Plushy Shinigami, destroy Plushy Neko Girl!" His monster slashed at mine, and it was destroyed as my Life Points went down to 1300. Homunculus told me, "Now I'll end my turn. Hope you make yours count." I looked at my deck nervously, and thought to myself, 'Deck, don't fail me now.' I then drew a card and looked at, and seeing it was Plushy Heart, I smirked and placed it on my duel disc, and told Homunculus, "I summon Plushy Heart in attack mode!" My monster appeared on the field with 100 ATK and 200 DEF, which increased to 400 ATK. I told Homunculus, "And thanks to its special ability, I can take control of one of your monsters, as long as it's a Plushy, and your Shinigami may be a Forgotten Plushy, but it's a Plushy nonetheless, so Plushy Heart, take control of Forgotten Plushy Shinigami!" My monster floated over to his and hovered above it, and both were surrounded by a pink glow. As it walked over to my side of the field, Homunculus backed up nervously and told it, "No, now, you serve me!" "Not anymore it doesn't. Now Forgotten Plushy Shinigami, attack Homunculus directly!" I shouted, and the Forgotten Plushy slashed at him with its scythe, reducing its Life Points to 0 as he screamed.

And there it is. In this chapter, I put the duel in the same chapter as some of the story, and that was because the chapter would have been too short otherwise. Sorry if this sucks, I am writing this really late, read and review, but no flames!


	28. A New Purpose

Hello everyone this is IndigoWerewolf with the next chapter of Duel Monsters Virtual. Before I get started, I just want to say that I am sorry about not updating in four days, but things have been hectic for me lately, because my grandmother has been visiting and I just started my new job. With that said, let's read and I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

I watched as Homunculus screamed and seemed to dissolve, the wood making up his (its?) body turning to sawdust and seeming to disappear, and his/its duel disc shattering into fragments of light. As the last of him/it was reduced to nothing, the cards in his/its deck and the one he/it had shown me before the duel spilled to the ground. I walked up to the pile of cards with a sense of trepidation, and as I did, I could see some dissolve as well into wisps of dark smoke. By the time I had reached the spot where my opponent had once stood, almost all of them were gone. As the last of them disappeared, I saw that the only cards vanishing were the Forgotten Plushys and the cards that supported them. Some however, like Strike Button and Gilded Thread, were still there, and I picked up the remaining cards, sifting through them. Once I found the monster that Homunculus had baited me into the duel with, I smiled as a feeling of relief emanated from it and washed over me.

"So, that happened." Max said behind me, and Rhea asked the both of us, "Yeah, but why? Who made him, and why?" "I can answer that." A voice said behind us, and we all turned to see a male figure about fifteen feet away. He was standing in a shadow, so all I could see of him was his hair, which was silver, his left eye, a vivid, neon green, and his trench coat, which was matte black with no sleeves. Holding the cards Homunculus had dropped, I asked him, "Who are you?" The figure told me, "The person who created the puppet you just dueled. Congratulations, by the way." I gritted my teeth as I asked him, "Why did you send that thing after me?" The figure replied with, "Because I wanted to see if you were as good as I thought you were. And you'll be happy to hear that you're not, you're even better." The figure continued without giving me a chance to reply, "Feel free to keep those cards you're holding as thanks, and here's a little something extra." He then pulled a card from his coat and threw it at me, and I caught it and read the name from the top. "Soul Sword." I muttered, and the figure departed, telling me, "Until next time." "Wait!" I shouted after him, but he was already gone.

I watched the strange figure leave holding the cards dropped by his creation, and looked down at them, deep I thought. Rhea pulled me out of it however, as she asked me, "You're not really going to keep those, are you?" I thought about it for a moment before I placed the cards in my deck holster as I remarked, "I get the feeling I'm going to need them soon." Rhea frowned, but before she could say anything, a window popped up in front of me, reading simply, "Dear Ms. Akaroe, your presence has been requested by Seto Kaiba. Please report to Player Union HQ ASAP." The window closed as the three of us finished reading it, and Max remarked, "As if this day couldn't get any weirder. Better head over there, Kaiba's not someone you want to keep waiting." Rhea commented, "I hate to admit it, but he's right. We'll finish the quest and meet you back in Tutorial Village." I nodded and started running, picking up speed as I flapped my wings and jumped off the ground as I took flight. I didn't take time to enjoy it however, as I sped through the sky towards Tutorial Village. Once I reached the outskirts, I cussed as I remembered that I wasn't allowed to fly over it, and dove down. When I reached the ground, I spread my wings wide to brake myself, and started running towards the Player District, and upon reaching the Warp Panel, I stepped on and said, "Player Union HQ."

Blue washed over my vision as I was teleported, and when it cleared, I was standing in the lobby of the Player Union. Before I could find someone however, someone found me. A tall man in a suit and tie with mirrored sunglasses, dark green-blue hair and a moustache approached me, and asked me, "Kara Akaroe?" I turned to the man and asked him, "Yes, why?" The man told me, "My name is Roland. Mr. Kaiba has sent me to ensure that you arrived safely, and to show you to his office. Please follow me." Roland then turned and walked off towards a door that read, "Employees Only." I followed him, struggling slightly to keep up with his long strides, and he led me to a door that had a plaque on it, reading, "N. Kaiba." Roland told me, "Mr. Kaiba is waiting for you inside." Confused, I asked, "But this says 'N. Kaiba'. Doesn't 'Seto' start with an 'S'?" Roland told me, "I was referring to Noah Kaiba." Then walked away without waiting for a response, and I shrugged and turned the doorknob, opening the door to see Noah Kaiba sitting in a desk and Seto Kaiba leaning against the left wall, wearing his white coat. Upon seeing me, Noah looked up and told me, "Hello Ms. Akaroe, thank you for coming so soon. Please, have a seat." He pointed to a chair in front of his desk, which I sat in, and asked the both of them, "Why did you call me here?" Seto smiled and remarked, "You don't waste time. I like that." He then stood up straight and told me, "We called you here because of your last duel, and what your opponent told you about me influencing you in this world." Noah then interjected, telling me, "It's true my brother has had an influence in your experience in the virtual world, however, he has promised me that he will not do so anymore, and our brother and I will make certain he keeps it." Seto then picked up the conversation again, telling me, "But that's not the only reason we called you here." He then asked me, "Have you ever heard of a Deity monster?" Confused, I asked, "No, what is it?" Noah projected images in the air in front of me, all depicting ancient carvings of ancient gods and goddesses.

Noah explained, "Deity monsters are monsters designed by Maximillian Pegasus, all styled after various deities from different times and culture. However, the cards were too powerful. They became monster spirits, and were locked away, until recently, when they were stolen." "Stolen?" I asked in surprise, and Seto nodded and told me, "We're not sure who has them now, all we know is that they are all in the virtual world, that not all of the Deities have chosen a duelist, and that no one Player currently holds more than one." Curious, I asked the both of them, "Okay, but how do I fit into all of this?" Noah told me, "You have a unique empathy with monsters. You can feel their emotions and even communicate with them, which would be a very desirable trait for one of the Deities. In addition, you are a very accomplished duelist and combatant. You see, these Deity monsters are unique in that they all actively choose who holds their cards, and once they choose a duelist, they will only leave that duelist if another one can defeat them in a duel, and then that duelist must defeat the Deity in combat." Starting to realize what they were getting at, I remarked, "So you want me to retrieve all of the Deities." Seto nodded, and told me, "And we're not just asking you so that we can say we have them all. The duelists that obtain Deity monsters use them to bully others, challenging other Players to duels and fights, and taking their cards and equipment if they win, which thanks to their Deities, they usually do. In addition, some of them have even banded together to take over entire Dungeons. If these Deities are not contained, the Players that hold them will attempt to take over the entire virtual world." I caught my breath as I processed his words, and after a moment of thought, stood up and told them determinedly, "I'll do it."

Seto nodded, and then pulled a card from his coat and handed it to me, telling me, "In that case, you'll need this." I took it from him, seeing that it was an ability card with the emblem of every Type on it, and I asked, "What is it?" Seto told me, "It's Transmogrification. It's an Ability that will let you change your Type, or in your case, Types, at will. It's the only one of its kind." Curious, I asked him, "And you're giving me this why?" This time it was Noah's turn to explain, as he told me, "As you know, a Player's Type determines how well you do in combat against monsters and other Players. Each one of the Deities is a different Type, and there are nineteen in total, one for each Type." I nodded in understanding and tucked the card into my deck holster, and asked them, "Do you know who has the Deity cards now?" Noah sighed and told me, "Unfortunately, no. However, we will alert you if we learn anything. Until then, keep on the lookout for any Players acting suspiciously." I nodded, and Roland showed up to escort me out. Once he had showed me back to the Warp Panel, I stepped on and exclaimed, "Tutorial Village." Blue washed over my vision and cleared once more as I teleported to Tutorial Village. Once I stepped off, I received a message from Rhea, asking if I was done with Kaiba. I replied that I had just finished, and she told me to head for the Inn, so I set off for it.

Once I reached the Inn, I entered and looked around for Max and Rhea, to see them in the restaurant area. I walked up and sat down with them, and Max asked, "So how'd it go?" I explained to the two of them what Seto and Noah had told me, and once I was done, Rhea asked me, "So they really want you to track down these Deity cards?" I nodded and told her, "It's going to be a lot easier said than done though. I don't even know what any of them look like." Next to me, Max asked the two of us, "So will that Transmogriwhatever really let you change your Type whenever you want?" Rhea and I both gave him incredulous looks, and he asked us, "What? Just saying, it'll be cool." I rolled my eyes and told them, "Anyway, let me know if you guys hear anything about Players bullying people. I need to get to bed." I then rose from my chair and left the Inn, walking over to the Warp Panel and entering my Apartment. Once there, I stripped down to my underpants and put on my sleep shirt, then climbed into my bed and fell asleep.

And there's the chapter. I did a little editing after the fact because the ending was a little bad, but I fixed it. Until next time, read and review, but no flames!


	29. Sister Smackdown

Hello everyone this is IndigoWerewolf with the next chapter of Duel Monsters Virtual. I am sorry about not updating this story in so long but I have been experiencing some writer's block lately. I will be doing sort of a "clean-up" of this story, trying to space the paragraphs better like I did in A Silent Hero. With that out of the way, I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh, let's read!

I woke up with a start, hearing a loud beeping right next to my ear. Looking around, I saw that my Band was flashing, and that it was the source of the beeping. Rubbing my ear, I tapped on it, and a window popped up, reading, "Kara, meet me in the square of Tutorial Village."

It wasn't signed, leaving me with no clue to their identity or what time they wanted to meet, and closed once I was done reading it. Frowning, I thought to myself, 'I have a bad feeling about this.' Deciding to air on the side of caution, I sent messages to Rhea and Max telling them about the message I had gotten.

Once I had put my clothes on and eaten breakfast, I stepped onto the Warp Panel and into Tutorial Village. Once I had gotten there, I stepped off and started looking around for whoever might have sent me the message, but before I could properly look around, Max and Rhea ran up to me. Once they had reached me, Rhea asked, "Hey Kara, we haven't seen anyone who wanted you to meet them here. What about you?"

Before I could answer however, I heard a childish female voice to my left cry out, "Nii-chan!"

I was then tackled to the ground by the speaker, who immediately began rubbing her cheek against mine while sighing contentedly. Knowing that there was only one person who called me that, I sighed and told the girl on top of me, "You can get off now, Saku."

Saku got up off of me, and I got up as Rhea asked me with a surprised face, "Uh…Kara, do you know this girl?"

I sighed and told her and Max, "Rhea, Max, this is my older sister, Saku."

The two of them stared at my sister for a moment. She had been a full head taller than me when we were both in the real world, but due to my change in height I now only came up to her chest. She was busty, with a D-cup and wide hips with a bubble butt, which was where her honey blonde hair went down to. She had tanned but not overly so skin and chocolate brown eyes, and was wearing the same Noob gear that we were and a neon pink Player Band.

Max looked from her to me and back again with an astonished look and asked me, "SHE'S your sister?!"

I asked him in response, "Yes, why?"

Max told me, "Well, she's just so…" He made a motion with his hands imitating a curvy woman while humming sultrily, then continued, "And you're so…" He then moved both hands down in a straight line while blowing a raspberry.

I growled at him, but before I could say anything, Saku giggled and told me, completely ignoring our little exchange, "You look funny, Nii-chan. When did you get a tail?"

She then started to try to grab it, and while I jerked it around to avoid her hands, Rhea looked at her strangely and asked me in a hushed voice, "Is she okay?"

Sighing, I told her, "Yeah, she's okay, she-" I then whirled around to face Saku and asked her, "Will you stop that already!?"

"Okay." Was her simple response, and I turned back to Rhea and told her, "She's fine, she's just a bimbo."

At my words, Saku pouted and crossed her arms, telling me, "Meanie."

I rolled my eyes and asked her, "Saku, what do you want? You did send me the message, right?"

Saku then got an expression on her face like she had just remembered something and said, "Oh yeah, I want to duel you!"

She pointed at me with a determined expression with her words, and I raised my eyebrow at her and asked, "Duel me? Why?"

Saku grinned widely and said, "I'm a Player now too, and I want to see if you've gotten better since you got here! But if I win, you have to be a boy again."

She added the last part as an afterthought, and I asked her, "What!? Why do you want to make me do THAT?"

Saku put her finger on her temple and closed her eyes, then with a frown told me, "You being a girl is making my head hurt. If I win you turn into a boy again."

I growled at her in frustration, but then got an idea, and told her, "Fine, but if I win, you have to quit being a Player and go back to the real world for good."

"Okay!" Saku said simply again, and we moved to the middle cul-de-sac and took our places on opposite ends of it. Next to me, Rhea asked, "Kara, is this really such a good idea? I mean, if you lose you have to turn yourself back into a boy."

I told her, "Don't worry, Saku and I have dueled dozens of times and she's never beat me once."

This answer didn't seem to assure her however, and she asked me, "But then why make her quit being a Player if she loses?"

I stared at Saku, who was trying to catch a butterfly, as I answered her, "Because she's only here because she wants to copy me. Everything I do, she's always had to do it too, and every time, she's ruined it for me. She's completely selfish, didn't you hear her when she said I have to turn myself back into a boy if I lose? She doesn't care about how I feel, all she cares about is herself."

Without waiting for Rhea's response, I called out to Saku, "Hey, are you going to start the duel or not?!"

Saku started, then took a dueling stance and her Duel Disc appeared on her arm. The main body was shaped like the top of an acorn, and the arm was made to look like a leaf. The main body was neon pink, with white trim. Seeing it, Max remarked, "So she's a Light Plant, huh? Interesting combo."

I then materialized my own Duel Disc, and we both inserted our Decks into them and simultaneously exclaimed, "Let's Duel!"

We each then drew five cards, and I told Saku, "Since you challenged me, I go first!"

I then drew an additional card and looked at my hand. I had the monster I had gotten from Homunculus, which was called Plushy Mage, Golden Thread, Plushy Rune, Plushy Bear, Big Plushy Bear, and my new card, Soul Sword. I looked over the description and caught my breath. 'This card completely goes against my playing style. Why would that mystery guy give it to me?' I thought to myself.

Saku called out to me smugly, "Staring at your cards won't help, Nii-chan! I know every one in your deck!"

Smirking, I told her, "You may know every card in my old deck, but I lost almost all of my cards when I got here, so this deck is entirely new."

My sister had a look of horror on her face with her eyes completely white, and she had her hands on her cheeks as she shouted out, "NOOOOOOOOOO!"

Suddenly, she was facing away from me and crouched on the balls of her feet on the ground with a dark purple aura around her, and she asked me forlornly, "Why would you do that? How can I beat you if I don't know your cards?"

Anger overtook me as my head expanded as if I were in an anime and my own eyes turned white while a red tic-mark appeared on my head and I shouted at her, "It wasn't my idea!"

My head turned back to normal as I told her, "Well anyway, you'll know what my cards can do soon enough. I summon Plushy Mage in Attack Mode!"

I placed Plushy Mage on my Duel Disc and it appeared on the field. It looked like Plushy Soldier, but with a tan cloak and a wooden staff with a light blue orb topping it. It had 900 ATK and 400 DEF. Saku squealed and exclaimed, "It's so CUUUUUTE!"

She then composed herself and told me, "But it's not very strong. You shouldn't have summoned it."

I smirked and explained to her, "He may not be strong, but he's got a great special ability! Whenever he's successfully summoned, I can bring a random spell card from my deck to my hand!"

At my words, Plushy Mage raised his staff and it shined blue, a card in the middle of my deck shining the same color before it moved outwards. I plucked it out and examined it, then smiled triumphantly and showed it to her, telling her, "And it's one of my favorites. I activate the field spell Plushy Factory!"

I placed my card in the field spell slot in my duel disc and the scenery changed to the stuffed machinery of Plushy Factory. I explained to Saku, "This field spell gives every Plushy on the field 300 ATK and DEF, and once per turn I can special summon one extra Plushy monster from my hand."

As Plushy Mage's ATK and DEF increased to 1200 and 700 respectively, I placed Plushy Bear's card on my duel disc and told Saku, "So now I'll special summon Plushy Bear in attack mode."

My Plushy Bear appeared to the left of Plushy Mage and his ATK and DEF increased to 600 and 700, and I told Saku, "But I'm not done. Thanks to the special ability of the Big Plushy Bear in my hand, I can special summon him directly to the field since Plushy Bear is already there. So come on out, Big Plushy Bear!"

I placed Big Plushy Bear's card on my duel disc and he appeared on the field to the left of Plushy Bear, and his ATK and DEF increased to 1700 and 1400. I then inserted Golden Thread into my duel disc and told her, "Unfortunately, none of them can attack since it's my first turn, so I'll just place a card face-down and let you take your turn."

*Rhea's POV*

I stared at Kara's field and the three Plushys that were on it. "Wow." I breathed out, and continued, "She summoned three monsters, used a field spell and put a down a face-down card all in one turn."

"Not bad." Max conceded next to me, then continued, "But if this girl's really dueled Kara as much as she says she has, then she knows her strategies pretty well. I'm interested to see how this'll turn out."

*Kara's POV*

Saku drew a card and placed a different one her duel disc, then told me, "I summon Flora Girl Sunny in attack mode!"

Her monster appeared on the middle of the field. It was a tall, busty woman with mocha-brown skin and chin-length honey-blonde hair, with gold eyes and wearing only a mask made from sunflower petals, and a tube top and daisy-dukes made from the same. It was an Earth Plant with 1100 ATK and 1200 DEF. I heard Max's jaw hit the ground and remarked, "Still winning duels by distracting your opponents, I see."

Saku stuck her tongue out at me and exclaimed, "Sunny, destroy Plushy Bear with Petal Pounder!"

Her monster rushed toward Plushy Bear and leaped into the air to deliver a flying kick, but before it connected, I exclaimed, "I activate my face-down card, Golden Thread!"

My card flipped up and the thread holding Plushy Bear together turned gold just before it connected, and I explained to Saku, "Golden Thread is a trap card that equips onto a Plushy monster when it's attacked, and it prevents the monster from being destroyed in battle."

I then removed the card from my duel disc, and told her, "And all I have to do to escape damage is discard it to the graveyard."

I slid Golden Thread into my graveyard, and Plushy Bear returned to normal. Meanwhile, Saku pouted and told me, "Fine you big meanie, I'll just put a card face-down and end my turn then."

She slid a card into her duel disc and it appeared on her field. I then drew a card, and looking at it, I saw that it was Strike Button. Smirking, I slid it into my Duel Disc and told Saku, "I'm equipping Big Plushy Bear with Strike Button, to give him 500 extra ATK points."

The red button appeared on Big Plushy Bear's chest, and his ATK increased to 2200. I then pointed at Flora Girl Sunny and told him, "Now Big Plushy Bear, destroy Flora Girl Sunny with Plushy Paw Pummel!"

Big Plushy Bear rushed towards Saku's Sunny, but before he reached her, Saku exclaimed, "I activate my face-down card, Plant Pheromones!"

Her card flipped upwards, revealing a trap with a rose spewing pollen. I growled, recognizing it, and muttered, "I hate that trap."

Saku giggled and explained, "My Plant Pheromones allow me to choose which one of your monsters attacks me, and the monster that WAS going to attack can't this turn. I choose for Plushy Mage to attack Sunny!"

Big Plushy Bear returned to its original position, and Plushy Mage charged up a sphere of blue yarn on the end of its staff and launched it at Saku's Sunny, destroying it and lowering Saku's Life Points to 3900. In its place stood a small potted sunflower with beady black eyes and a small smile and rosy cheeks. "Thanks to my Flora Girl Sunny's Special Ability, whenever she's destroyed I get a Sunny Token in defense mode to protect my Life Points. Then on my next turn, I can sacrifice it to bring another Flora Girl directly to my hand." Saku told me.

I then told my Plushy Bear, "Now Plushy Bear, destroy her Sunny Token!"

Plushy Bear rushed at her Token and punched it lightly, destroying it. I then told Saku, "I end my turn. Your move."

Saku drew a card and pouted, then said in a whiny voice, "Awwwww, why couldn't I get this card last turn? Oh well, I activate the spell card World Tree!"

Saku slid the card into her duel disc and a huge tree sprouted behind her. Saku started explaining to me, "World Tree is a continuous spell card that gains a Flower Counter whenever a Plant Type monster on my field is destroyed…"

"And you can remove those counters to activate different effects. I've seen this card before." I finished.

Saku pouted again and told me, "I summon Flora Girl Cactus in defense mode, then place a card face-down and end my turn."

Her monster appeared on the field. It was another tall busty woman, this one with tanned skin and green hair in a pixie cut, with a green bikini and mask, with spiked green arm and shin guards, crouching in a defensive stance. It had 1250 ATK and 0 DEF. I grunted in annoyance and behind me, Rhea asked, "Why would she summon a monster with zero DEF points in DEF mode?"

I explained to her, "Because when Flora Girl Cactus is destroyed while in DEF mode, the opponent's Life Points are reduced by the difference between the opponent's monsters ATK points and her monster's DEF points."

Saku nodded and smugly said, "That's right, and if you destroy her, I get a Flower Counter on my World Tree, and if you don't destroy the Cactus Token that'll be summoned when she's destroyed, I get to bring another Flora Girl to my hand on my next turn. But if you do, you'll take more damage, and I get another counter."

I growled and drew a card, and saw that it was Terraforming. 'No use to me now, but it does give me an idea.' I thought to myself, and told Saku, "I'm activating Plushy Mage's second ability. By discarding a spell card from my deck to my graveyard, I can get another random spell card."

I then took my deck out and removed Guard Button from it, then slid it into the graveyard and shuffled and replaced it. Plushy Mage's staff glowed again and a spell near the bottom of my deck glowed and moved outwards. I plucked it from my deck and looked at it. It was Plushy Wish. I frowned lightly and slid it into my duel disc, then told Saku, "I set one card face-down and end my turn."

*Rhea's POV*

I was watching the duel between Saku and Kara with earnest when I heard a voice behind us, "I knew this would happen, I knew it."

Max and I turned around to see an old couple walk up behind us and start watching the duel as well, and the old man said crossly, "This is exactly why I didn't want to let her out of our sight Mako, because I knew she and Karo would end up dueling."

The old woman, presumably Mako, rolled her eyes and told him, "Yes Hakumo, you've said that several times. Now stop being rude and introduce yourself to Karo's friends."

Hakumo turned to the two of us and said, "Oh sorry about that, I'm Hakumo, Karo's grandfather."

He held out his hand for us to shake, which I did, Max not acknowledging it. While I was shaking his hand, I got a good look at him. He was a short, thin man, coming up to about my navel, with a hunchback. His left eye was squinted shut, and the other was a muddy brown. He was mostly bald with a fringe of white hair on the sides of his head, and his clothes consisted of a plain gray shirt with a gray-green vest and brown pants, along with a pair of wooden sandals with two thin blocks of wood supporting the base.

"And I'm Mako, Karo's grandmother." Mako said to us. She was short and thin with a hunch as well, and had steel-gray hair in a bun with lines on her face and no makeup. She had light green eyes and was wearing a blue kimono with a red sash and the same sandals Hakumo was wearing.

She then asked us, "So would you two youngsters like to fill us in as to why Karo's a girl, and has purple hair?"

I explained to her about Kara's loss to Aona and her confession to her mother, but that her hair color was a mystery to us. Hakumo then nodded and asked us, "So what's the stakes of the duel?"

Max turned to him and asked, "How do you know they made a bet?"

Hakumo then replied with, "Because that's the only reason these two EVER duel."

Mako explained to us, "You see, for as long as they've both been dueling, Kara and Saku would always solve all of their disputes with a duel. And usually, Kara wins. The only problem is, since Saku's older and bigger than her, she never keeps her word. She just noogies her until she gives up."

The thought of a situation like that made me giggle, but I quickly composed myself with a cough and told the two of them, "The bet is, if Kara wins, Saku has to leave the virtual world and not come back. But if Saku wins, Kara has to go back to being a boy."

This seemed to shock the two geezers, and Mako put her hands on her face and muttered, "Oh no, and just when Kara came to terms with her mother about it. No matter what happens, Saku's going to make her do it, and I just know that that'll break the poor girl's heart."

Hakumo then raised his fist in the air and exclaimed, "Kara! You beat Saku good, you hear me!?"

Curiously, I asked the elderly couple, "Did you two know about Kara before all this?"

Mako nodded and hummed an affirmation, then told me, "We were the first and probably only ones she told about it. Saku knew too, but that's because she was listening in when she told us."

She then hummed worriedly and turned back to the duel, and remarked, "No matter who wins, this is not going to end well."

*Kara's POV*

Saku drew a card and told me, "Don't think stalling is gonna help you, Nii-chan. I'm switching Flora Girl Cactus into attack mode, and I'll have her attack your Plushy Bear!"

Flora Girl Cactus changed into an offensive stance and rushed towards Plushy Bear, and smashed her spiked elbow onto him, destroying him and lowering my Life Points to 3550. I growled as she told me, "And now thanks to Flora Girl Cactus' Special Ability, she switches back into defense mode."

Her monster took on a defensive stance again, and Saku told me, "Now I'll end my turn. And don't forget Nii-chan, when you lose you have to turn back into a boy again!"

Saku's comment infuriated me, and unbeknownst to me, a pink butterfly tribal marking appeared on the back of the hand holding my cards. I then growled and exclaimed, "That's IT!"

This startled Saku and the others, and I started ranting angrily as I reached to draw a card, "You terrorized me for fifteen years before you moved in with Grandpa and Gramma, and when I finally realized my dream and became comfortable in my own skin, you're trying to ruin it like you ruin everything else! Well not this time, Saku! I'm winning this duel, and I'm not going to let you back out of your end of the deal this time!"

While I was speaking, the tribal pattern spread up my arm until it encompassed half of my face, and the card on top of my deck shined pink before I drew it, and without looking at it I pointed at my Plushy Wish and told Saku, "Now I'm going to activate my face-down card, Plushy Wish!"

My card flipped up, exposing its design, and I told her, "if a Plushy monster on my side of the field was destroyed last turn, I can draw another card, and if it's a Plushy, I can draw again, and if THAT card's a Plushy, I can summon it directly to the field!"

I then drew another card from my deck, and smirked as I saw that it was Plushy Whale. I showed it to her and said, "Well look at that, it's Plushy Whale. Looks like I get to draw another card."

I then drew a card from my deck again, and saw that it was Patchwork Plushy. I grinned widely and told her, "It's a Plushy alright, and a personal favorite of mine. I special summon Patchwork Plushy!"

Patchwork Plushy appeared on the field, and her ATK increased to 1900, then 2500. I explained to Saku, "And thanks to her Special Ability, she gains 300 ATK for every other Plushy monster on the field. Next, I'll use Plushy Factory's effect to special summon Plushy Whale!"

The stuffed machinery around us churned, and as I placed Plushy Whale's card on my duel disc, the monster emerged from the machine, and Patchwork Plushy's ATK increased to 2800 while Plushy Whale's ATK increased to 1100. I then slipped my Terraforming card into my disk and told her, "Next I'll activate the spell card Terraforming. It lets me bring any field spell in my deck straight to my hand, and I know just the one I want."

*Rhea's POV*

I frowned worriedly, and turned to Mako and Hakumo and asked them, "Is it just me or is Kara acting a little… strange?"

Hakumo hummed and told me, "A few years ago, it wouldn't be strange at all."

In confusion, I tilted my head and asked, "Huh?"

He turned to Max and I and explained, "Kara's dueling like she did years ago, when she was angry at everything. She dueled viciously back then, sparing no one, and her favorite target was Saku. With everyone else, she acted as if they were beneath her, but with Saku, she became sadistic, and it seems like she's slipped back into that mindset."

Max asked us, "Does it have anything to do with those freaky lights on her arm?"

Mako hummed worriedly and said, "It must. The timing is too coincidental. I just hope she returns to normal before she does something she regrets."

*Kara's POV*

I had an evil grin on my face as the card I wanted slid out of my deck, and I plucked it out and took Plushy Factor out of my field spell slot and put it and Terraforming in my graveyard. I then placed the card I had gotten into my field spell slot and told Saku, "I now activate the field spell Plushy Paradise!"

The stuffed machinery of Plushy Factory disappeared, to be replaced by a green shag carpet made to mimic grass, and the sky was now blue cloth stitched together with a happy-faced sun in one corner, and there was a stuffed barn with stuffed farm animals milling about nearby. I explained, "Plushy Paradise gives every Plushy monster on my field 800 ATK points."

All of my monster's ATK increased at my words. Plushy Mage's ATK increased to 1700, Big Plushy Bear's ATK increased to 2700, and Patchwork Plushy's ATK increased to 3000. I wasn't done however, as I placed the card I had originally drawn on my last free monster slot and told Saku, "I now summon from my hand… Titania, Goddess of the Fae!"

My new monster appeared on the field. She was a tall woman with milky pale skin and dark purple hair in a long braid and dark purple eyes. She had a curvy figure and was wearing a light purple kimono with a dark purple sash and wooden sandals like my grandparents were wearing, and after a moment, shimmering purple wings that looked like my markings appeared behind her. She had 1100 ATK and 1000 DEF and was a Dark Fairy. Saku told me, "She's not a Plushy, why did you summon her?"

I grinned evilly again and told her, "She may not be a Plushy now, but thanks to her Special Ability, if there's an effect on the field she's not eligible for, I can change her so that she IS!"

"What!?" Saku exclaimed squeakily, and I grinned and threw my hand out towards Titania and told her, "Now Titania, transform into a Plushy!"

After being cocooned in purple light briefly, Titania emerged transformed into a Plushy and her ATK increased to 1900. Her size didn't change however. I then slid Soul Sword into my duel disc and exclaimed, "Now I equip Titania with Soul Sword!"

The blade appeared in Titania's hand. It was a long one-handed sword with a black hilt and grey metal, with four large skull-shaped opaque crystals embedded along the length. There was no change in her ATK however, and after a moment, Saku commented in confusion, "Nothing happened."

I chuckled maliciously, and told her, "That's because the sword doesn't have any Soul Counters yet. You see, Soul Sword is useless unless it has a Soul Counter on it, but for every Soul Counter on the blade, Titania will gain 800 ATK points."

Saku gasped and asked me, "A-And how does it get Soul Counters?"

I chuckled evilly and remarked, "I'm glad you asked."

I then extended my hand towards the sky and exclaimed, "I now sacrifice Plushy Mage, Big Plushy Bear, Plushy Whale, and Patchwork Plushy to give the Soul Sword Titania's equipped with four Soul Counters!"

Mimicking me, Titania raised the Soul Sword upwards. Suddenly, the four gems shined with blue light, and the light extended towards each of the monsters I had named. In turn, each of them was dissolved into blue light and absorbed into the sword. Once it was done, all four of the skull gems on the Soul Sword were shining electric blue, and Titania's ATK raised to 5100.

I grinned evilly seeing my monster's new ATK total, and told Saku, "And that's not the end. Since Big Plushy Bear had Strike Button equipped onto him, and he was sacrificed to Soul Sword, Strike Button is now equipped onto Titania!"

Titania's ATK raised again to 5900 as the red button appeared on her chest, and I pointed at Saku and exclaimed, "Now Titania, use Soul Sword to cut through Flora Girl Cactus and obliterate Saku's Life-"

I was cut off however, by Max shouting at me, "Shut the hell up, Kara!"

I turned to him enraged as he continued.

*Rhea's POV*

Max had a furious expression on his face as he shouted at Kara, "I don't know what the hell happened to you when that crazy light showed up on your arm, but it changed you, and not in a good way. Now you've got some explaining to do, so what do you think you're doing?!"

Kara growled before shouting back at him, "Winning the duel, what does it look like I'm doing?"

Max scoffed and said, "Looks like you're being a Ra-damned hypocrite, that's what!"

Kara's expression softened as she asked him, "What?"

Max told her with a stern face, "Remember our duel after you got turned into a girl? You chewed me out for sacrificing one of my monsters to damage your Life Points. You told me that monsters should be treated with respect, and a bunch of other bullshit that I don't remember right now, but the point is, you sure aren't respecting your monsters right now! I mean look at yourself, you just sacrificed four of them just to boost one monster's ATK! Now stop being an asshole, duel like only you can, and SNAP OUT OF IT!"

*Kara's POV*

After Max's outburst, my face fell as I thought to myself, 'He's right. What am I doing? This isn't me. I have to stop this!'

Not a second after I had finished the thought however, purple energy sparked up and down the length of the Soul Sword in Titania's hand and burst outwards in a pulse of dark energy. It didn't seem to harm the others, but in an instant, a searing pain erupted in my head, and I screamed in agony as it sparked around me. On my field, Titania appeared to be suffering as well, with the same energy but no screaming. I fell to my knees in pain, and thought to myself, 'The sword. It's got to be the sword. I've got to get rid of it.'

I looked at my duel disc, trying to come up with a plan, and as I looked at Titania's card, one formed in my mind. I struggled to my feet, the pain building, and gasped out in pain, "I activate Titania's second Special Ability, and give up 500 Life Points to get a spell card of my choice from my Deck."

Titania raised her hand, still in pain, and purple energy shined on one of my cards before it slid outwards from my deck. I plucked it out and slid it into my duel disc, then said, "I now equip Titania with Quick Button, allowing her to attack twice in one turn."

A blue button with a 'x2' logo appeared on Titania's shoulder, and I explained, "And now that Strike Button and Quick Button are both equipped onto the same monster, I can retrieve Guard Button from my graveyard."

Guard Button slid out from my graveyard and I retrieved it and slid it into my duel disc as well before telling Saku, "Now I equip it onto Titania."

As the green button appeared on Titania's other shoulder, I explained to her, "Now that Strike Button, Guard Button, and Quick Button are all equipped onto the same monster, I can remove them all, along with all other equip cards equipped onto her, to activate all of their secondary effects. First, Strike Button destroys one monster on your side of the field."

Strike Button glowed red and detached from Titania, then zoomed forward and smashed into Flora Girl Cactus, destroying her. I told Saku, "Next, Guard Button renders one monster on MY side of the field invincible for two turns."

Guard Button detached from Titania as well, and spun above her before showering her in green dust and disappearing. I then told Saku, "Finally, Quick Button lets me move one card from my deck to my hand."

A spell card from my deck slid outwards and I plucked it from my deck, and blue, red, and green light washed over Titania, dissolving the Soul Sword and leaving four balls of blue light hovering above each of my monster zones. Once it was gone, I breathed a sigh of relief as the pain abetted, and the markings on my arm retreated, leaving only the original butterfly pattern on the back of my hand. Titania then glowed with pink light, forming a cocoon around herself. When it was gone, she was completely different. Firstly, she was much shorter, about my height, and with little curves to speak of. Second, she had pink hair in a high ponytail and pink eyes, and her kimono, now pink with a red sash had shortened so that it stopped at her hips, revealing the dark pink short-shorts she was wearing, her feet now bare.

In addition, her wings were now pink as well, and she had gauze wrapped around her hands. She floated in the air about a foot above the ground, and turned to smile at me before she transformed into a Plushy version of herself. Suddenly, the four blue lights that had been hanging in the air were transformed back into my monsters, and I smiled and told Saku, "And now that Soul Sword has been destroyed, all of the monsters I sacrificed return to my field."

I then pointed at Saku and exclaimed, "Now my monsters, attack Saku and end the duel!"

All at once, all of the monsters on my field rushed towards Saku, striking her and sending her Life Points to zero as she screamed with her head thrown back before collapsing as the duel ended.

Both of our Duel Discs dissolved as the duel ended, and once I had gotten my deck back into its holster, I walked over to Saku and offered her my hand, asking her, "So, you finally going to keep your promise and go home?"

Saku stood up without my help and crossed her arms in front of her chest and said with a pouty expression, "No! Now turn into a boy, now!"

I growled in frustration and told her, "No Saku, we had a deal, now go back to the real world!"

"No! Now turn into a boy, don't make me give you a noogie!" Saku said, and I growled in frustration before launching myself at her, tackling her.

*Rhea's POV*

Kara tackled her sister and they started to wrestle on the ground, shouting at each other in Japanese as they rolled around in the dirt, biting each other and pulling each other's hair in a huge cloud of dust. I turned to her grandparents and asked them, "Should we be worried?"

Mako sighed and responded, "This is pretty much how I thought this would end. All we can do is let them go at it."

Hakumo however, thought differently as he said, "Nuts to that!"

He then walked up to the brawling sisters and grabbed each of them by the backs of their shirts, then stood them up and started lecturing Saku, "I've had about enough of this! Saku, you lost the duel fair and square, and even if you hadn't, it wasn't right of you to put Kara into that situation in the first place. She's finally comfortable in her own skin and you should be happy for her instead of trying to force her to change back."

He then rounded on Kara and lectured her, "And Kara, yes your sister is annoying and infuriating, and to be honest I'm as angry with her as you are right now but that's no reason to resort to violence! Now both of you make up before I put my sandals up your rears!"

The old man's shouting seemed to defuse the anger Saku and Kara had, and after a moment, they both hugged each other without a word.

*Kara's POV*

I separated from Saku after about a minute of hugging her, and told her, "I'm sorry for the way I acted Saku, and I'm sorry I tried to get you to go back home. You don't have to if you don't want to."

Saku had an apologetic look on her face as she told me, "I'm sorry too, Nee-chan. I was being a big meanie."

We smiled at each other and hugged again, and after we separated, Max asked us, "Okay, touchy-feely stuff aside, what was with the freaky light show on your arm, Kara? And where did you get that Titania monster?"

I frowned as I pulled the card in question from my Deck. It showed the form she took near the end of the duel, and was now a Light Fairy. "I don't know." I told him truthfully, "It's as if it just appeared at the top of my deck."

Rhea then hummed and put her hand on her chin, then asked, "Isn't her full name Titania, Goddess of the Fae?"

"Yes," I told her, "Why?"

Rhea asked me, "What if she's one of those Deity cards? You said they choose their Duelists, right?"

The theory shocked me, and I turned my head back to the card as I said thoughtfully, "I guess it could be. Considering the circumstances, that's actually the most likely explanation."

Before anyone could say anything else, Grandpa cleared his throat and told us all, "Well this has been fun, but Mako and I need to be getting home. Saku, we'll send over anything you forgot. Good-bye now!"

My grandparents both walked off towards the Warp Pad, with the four of us shouting farewells at them. Once they had gone, Rhea pointed out that the sun was going down, and we got onto the Warp Pads to go to our respective Apartments, deciding it was too late to do anything else.

When I got to my Apartment, I immediately changed into my sleeping clothes and flopped onto my bed tiredly. I then stared at my hand, which had retained the tribal butterfly marking, although now it no longer glowed. Deciding that I would figure it out in the morning, I yawned before I curled up and drifted off to sleep.

And that is Chapter 29 of Duel Monsters Virtual. I am again sorry for the lengthy hiatus, it was due to a long string of writer's block and I promise I will try to get going on this and my other ongoing story, and I'll wait until those are done before I post any new ones. If you have any suggestions, please let me know, and please read and review, and as always, no flames! I can not stress that strongly enough!


	30. The Second Deity

Hello everyone this is IndigoWerewolf with the thirtieth chapter of Duel Monsters Virtual. I am sorry again for the long time between updates but I will try to update more regularly from now on, and since I don't want to spoil anything, I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh, let's read!

I woke up with a start, hearing a beeping sound coming from somewhere near me. With a groan, I lifted my wrist to see that my Band was flashing red, and I pressed the gem to see Max's face on it. "Hey Max." I greeted him.

"Hey Kara. Hey, Rhea and I are going to the Training Center and she wanted me to invite you. See you later." He told me, and without giving me a chance to ask him what he was talking about, he ended the call. I sighed and said to myself, "Typical Max. Oh well, might as well see what he was talking about."

With that, I got out of bed and got dressed. Once I had eaten, brushed my teeth and gotten my Deck together, I stepped onto my Warp Pad and said out loud, "Training Center."

With a rush of blue light, I was transported to a huge gym. There were dozens of Players using the machines, all of them dressed in the same blue-and-black workout clothes, albeit with men and women wearing different variants. I looked down at myself and saw that I was wearing the same thing as the other female Players, a black-and-blue sports bra with matching pants. Before I could look around however, Rhea stepped off of a treadmill and walked over to me, saying, "Hey Kara, glad you could make it!"

I smiled upon seeing her and greeted her, saying, "Thanks, I don't really know what this place is though, Max didn't explain anything."

Rhea rolled her eyes and said, "Of course he didn't. Well, let me show you around then."

Rhea led me around the facility, explaining, "The Training Center is a special dungeon run by the Player Union where Players can train their stats and get used to combat. Max and I decided to come here to take a break from Quests for the day."

Before she or I could say anything else however, Max's voice sounded out behind us along with a crash, saying, "Damn it James!"

Rhea and I turned around to see James, Jacob, and Max all at a bench-press, with Max laying on it, Jacob standing to the side smirking, and James struggling to lift a heavy barbell off of Max's chest. Suddenly, Max cried out, "Get this thing off of me!"

In response, James asked him, "Why did you pick ME to be your spot?!" After giggling at him for a few seconds, I turned to Rhea and told her, "Come on, let's go help him."

Rhea nodded, still giggling, and the two of us walked over and tried to help James lift the barbell off of Max. Unfortunately however, it was easier said than done. While we were straining, I asked the group, "How much does this thing weigh?!"

"Five hundred pounds." Max strained out, and after another minute of us desperately trying to lift the weight, James asked Jacob, "Hey Jacob, little help here?"

Still smirking, Jacob nodded and said, "Okay." He then grabbed the barbell with one hand and lifted it upwards, taking all four of us with it. He then dropped it on the ground, dropping Rhea, James, Max and I as well. While the four of us were on the ground with spirals replacing our eyes, I dizzily asked Max, "Why were you trying to lift five hundred pounds?"

James replied for him, telling me while equally dizzy, "He and Jacob were having a weight-lifting contest. I think you can guess who won."

Once we had all recovered from being dropped on the ground, I told James and Jacob, "It's good to see the two of you again. Where have you been?"

James told me, "Well, we kind of stopped hanging out with Max since he got you turned into a girl,"

Jacob then interjected, finishing his sentence with, "But since he's been acting nicer we decided to train together today."

"Speaking of which, if you don't mind, we'd like to get back to it." Max told us, and he lay back down on the bench press with a new, lighter, weight.

Rhea turned to me and said, "Come on Kara, let's do some Accuracy training." With that, we went into a room with a target range and started shooting at the targets, her firing arrows and me firing Shadow Darts, my skill with the ranged attack increasing greatly. We kept this up for a while, using different machines and training our various combat stats, before we heard a crash come from the main room. Startled, Rhea and I ran to see what it was.

What we saw shocked us. James was standing in the main room in the middle of a pile of destruction, panting with an angry face and completely whited-out eyes. Workout machines were smashed all around him, and Players were looking at him in horror. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Max standing over Jacob, and I rushed over, Rhea following me. Once we had reached them, I saw that James had a broken nose, looking like he had been punched in the face, and I asked Max, "What happened here?"

Max turned to me with shock on his face and told me, "James has gone berserk. We were working out and he got all quiet, then started beating people up and making them duel him. I don't know what's wrong with him!"

I rounded on James and asked him, "James, why are you doing this?"

James growled and, with a heavily distorted voice, shouted out, "Shut up! You don't know how much I've suffered, how I've been taunted! People calling me weak, I'll show them who's weak!"

Rhea and I, and indeed every other Player in the gym then rounded on Max, who chuckled weakly and rubbed the back of his head. Just then, we heard a groan from Jacob, and he opened his eyes and asked us, "Where am I?"

"Jacob! Are you alright!?" Rhea asked him, and Jacob sat up with another groan and replied, "I think so." He then turned to me and said, "Kara, please, you have to beat him."

"What?" I asked in surprise, and he explained, "Since he went crazy, James has been making people duel him, it's all he can think about. Please, if he loses, maybe it'll snap him out of this. You beat Max, you must be able to beat James."

I turned to James, who was breathing heavily with his eyes solid white, and nodded determinedly. I walked up to him while materializing my duel disc and told James, "Hey James, if you want a duel so badly, then I'll take you on! Come on, let's go!"

James grinned evilly and chuckled, and told me, "All right, if you're that eager to get your ass beaten, then who am I to deny you? But if you want to duel me, then it's going to be a Deck Master Duel!"

I smirked and told him, "Fine by me." James then materialized his own duel disc, the arm being a silver sword with navy blue trim and the body a shield colored the same, indicating he was a Warrior. We both loaded our Decks in and exclaimed simultaneously, "Let's Duel!"

Copies of all of my monsters' cards appeared in front of me, and James' in front of him to let us both choose our Deck Masters. When I spotted the one I wanted, I grinned and touched it, and all the copies disappeared, the one I picked glowing in my Deck and removing itself, floating beside me and glowing blue. While it glowed brighter, I announced to James, "For my Deck Master, I choose the one monster that's never let me down! The mystical, magical, Princess of Yuki!"

As I finished, the Princess of Yuki's card flashed blue and she appeared beside me. James then touched one of his cards and a corresponding one slipped out of his Deck and glowed black beside him. As it glowed brighter, he told me, "For my Deck Master, I of course choose the strongest monster in my Deck. Ares, God of War!"

His Deck Master's card flashed black and his Deck Master appeared behind him. It was a gigantic man with olive skin and black hair in a buzz cut, wearing a blood-red toga with a brownish-red cape and a boar's head for a hood, held on with a gold clasp. On his huge feet were brown leather sandals in an Ancient Greek style. He carried a spear the size of a telephone pole and a circular shield, but what really disturbed me were his eyes. They were twin orbs of fire, like miniature suns in his eye sockets.

"Guess we know whether or not he's under the control of a Deity card." I muttered.

He chuckled lowly as a glowing red tribal sword pattern appeared on the back of his hand, but didn't spread any further like mine did. Speaking of which, the butterfly pattern on the back of my hand lit up, glowing as we each drew five cards. "Since you challenged me, I'll go first." He told me, and he drew an additional card. He looked at his cards and chuckled lowly, then placed a card in his spell slot and told me, "I place a card face-down on the field, and then I'll summon White Pawn in attack mode!"

His face-down appeared on the field in front of him, and he placed another card in his far-left monster slot. A second later, a huge white chess piece, a pawn, appeared in the space. The pawn then broke apart, revealing a figure about half my size with Caucasian skin and beady black eyes with a mouth set in a determined frown, an oversized head, and a white chest piece, a white helm, and white metal shoes and gloves that had no fingers or toes. It had an oversized shield that looked like the top half of the pawn it had come from held at its side in one hand, and was a Light Warrior with 0 ATK and 800 DEF.

James then told me, "That'll end my turn. Your go." I looked at him in shock with my cards held at my side, and asked him, "You have got to be joking."

James looked at me in confusion and asked, "What do you mean?" I face-palmed and told him, "A low-attack monster in attack mode, and a face-down card? Really? That's the most obvious set-up in the book. It's obviously a trap that'll spring when I attack your White Pawn."

James shrugged casually and said, "You got me. But if you want to win, you'll have to attack eventually."

I rolled my eyes and drew a card, then looked at the rest of the ones in my hand. I had Plushy Soldier, Plushy Mage, Plushy Wish, Mush Plushy, Plushy Castle, and Plushy Conversion. I set Plushy Soldier's card on my middle monster space, telling James, "I summon Plushy Soldier in attack mode!" Plushy Soldier appeared on my field with a puff of smoke and a squeaking sound, with 800 ATK and 600 DEF.

James chuckled and told me, "That monster won't do you much good if you don't attack, you know."

I smirked and told him, "Oh, I intend to, but I won't be attacking White Pawn." "What?!" He asked me in shock. Confidently, I told him, "I'm activating Princess of Yuki's Deck Master Ability, Ice Rink Rush! Since you only have one monster on your side of the field, I can bypass it and strike your Life Points directly once per turn!"

I pointed at James and told Plushy Soldier, "Alright Plushy Soldier, slide and slash James' Life Points!" With that, Princess of Yuki held up her staff, which glowed with a light blue light, and the floor turned to ice. Once it had, Plushy Soldier skated across the ice, ignoring White Pawn and heading straight for James.

Before he could reach him however, a black shadow popped out of the ground in front of him, and a huge blade blocked Plushy Soldier's strike. I gasped in surprise as James chuckled lowly. The shadows then dispersed around the figure, revealing a figure that looked identical to White Pawn, but had black armor and carried a sword the size of itself, with the pommel looking like the sphere on the top of a pawn. I also saw that James' trap card had flipped upwards, revealing the same monster holding its sword in front of it defensively.

Plushy Soldier returned to its original position as the new monster stood in front of James, and seeing my look of shock, he chuckled and told me, "I never said the trap would only activate if you attacked White Pawn."

"My trap, Best Offence, activates when a monster either attacks a White Pawn on my field or attacks me directly, and it lets me summon a Black Pawn from my hand to defend me or it. Neither monster is destroyed, but if their attack hadn't been equal, either you or I would have lost some Life Points." He explained, and I saw that Black Pawn indeed had 800 ATK, it's DEF at 0.

Before I could do or say anything else, Black Pawn moved in front of White Pawn, the latter standing behind him in a defensive crouch and the former standing with his sword in front of him. Their ATK and DEF indicators both disappeared, and a single one appeared above them, showing 800 ATK and DEF each. Seeing my look of surprise, James explained, "I can see you're not familiar with Black Pawn and White Pawn's archetype. You see, when Black and White Pawn are both on the field at the same time, they're treated as the same monster, with their ATK and DEF points combined, and take up only one monster space."

I growled and determinedly told him, "It doesn't matter how their archetype works, I've been in dozens of Deck Master Duels with the Princess of Yuki. She's never let me down before, and she won't now! I can take whatever you can dish out, so bring it on!" James told me, "Inspiring speech. Now, I believe it's still your turn."

I looked at my cards, considering my options, before I slid Plushy Wish into a spell slot and told James, "I'll place my own face-down card and end my turn."

James chuckled and asked me, "No field spell? I guess I'll have to step up to the plate then." Without waiting for a response, he drew a card and told me, "I play the field spell Vehement Chessboard!" The field spell slot in his duel disc opened up and he placed a card in it, presumably a field spell, and the slot closed. Suddenly, a white and black chessboard pattern spread across the floor of the Training Center, and his combined monster's ATK and DEF each increased to 1000. "Vehement Chessboard is a special field spell that only affects my Chess monsters. It increases White monsters' DEF by 200, and my Black monsters' ATK by the same amount." James said.

"And since I don't want you using that annoying Deck Master ability again, I'll sacrifice White Pawn to summon White Knight, in defense mode!" He continued, before removing White Pawn's card from on top of Black Pawn's and sliding into the graveyard. He then placed a different card on the next slot over.

His White Pawn disappeared off the field, to be replaced in the next monster slot over by a huge white knight piece, which broke apart like the pawn to reveal a slightly taller figure with the same oversized head and beady eyes as the Pawns, but with full white armor and a helm shaped like the top of the knight piece, holding a huge white knight's shield held out in front of it, covering everything below its eyes. Like White Pawn, it was a Light Warrior, with 0 ATK and 1000 DEF which increased to 1200 DEF. "Now, Black Pawn, destroy Plushy Soldier!"

His monster rushed forward, slicing Plushy Soldier in half and destroying it. My Life Points then decreased to 3800, but that wasn't my main concern. As the counter decreased, a searing pain flared up in my chest and I screeched in agony as I fell to my knees. Once the counter had stopped, along with the pain, I fell forward onto my hands and knees panting. Once I felt I was able, I shakily stood up and asked James, "What just happened? Why did it feel like-"

I was rudely interrupted by my opponent however, as he asked, "Like your heart was being torn from your chest? That's what happens when two duelists chosen by the Deities duel each other. Here, the consequences are real, and not just for you."

"What are you talking about?" I asked him, but turned my head as I realized what he was implying, and my fears were concerned as I saw that my Princess of Yuki looked like she had just gone through the same pain, panting with a hand over her chest.

I growled and turned to James, who simply chuckled and told me, "Fun, isn't it? Anyway, it's your turn now."

I laid my hand on my Deck and drew a card, asking him, "You're sick, you know that? How could you enjoy this?!"

Jacob called out to me, still on the ground, telling me, "He's not in control of himself, Kara! Please, you have to snap him out of this!"

My face softened as I looked at the sword on the back of James' hand, and I thought to myself, 'That's right, James is being controlled by Ares. And if I want to save him, I have to beat him.' I then said out loud, "Ok James, no more Mr. Nice Girl!"

I then looked at the card I had just drawn, and saw that it was Plushy Witch. I looked down at the other cards in my hand as a plan started to form in my mind, and I nodded determinedly as I plucked the card I wanted from my hand. I told James, "You're not the only one who can use a field spell. I activate Plushy Castle from my hand!"

The field spell slot in my duel disc opened up and I placed the card inside. Instantly, the walls of the wrecked Training Center disappeared, to be replaced by the felt walls of Plushy Castle's courtyard. The chessboard pattern on the floor turned to cloth as well, and I smirked as I told James, "And now since Plushy Castle is in effect, Vehement Chessboard's effects only apply to Plushys."

As his monster's ATK and DEF both decreased to their original amounts, I pressed a button on my Duel Disc and told James, "And now I'm activating Plushy Wish!"

My spell card flipped up on the field and I explained to James, "Since you destroyed a Plushy monster last turn, I get to draw a card. If that card has the word 'Plushy' in its name, I get to draw another card. If that card is a Plushy, I get to summon it right to the field."

I then drew the first card of Plushy Wish's effect, and looked down to see that it was Patchwork Plushy. I smirked and showed it to James, telling him, "Looks like I'm drawing another card."

I laid my hand on my Deck once more and drew the top card, but looking at it, it was the spell Card Destruction instead of a Plushy. I growled in annoyance and told James, "Lucky for you it wasn't a Plushy monster, but that doesn't mean I can't summon a different one from my hand. I summon Plushy Mage in attack mode!"

I placed Plushy Mage's card in my center monster slot on my Duel Disc, and it appeared with another squeak and puff of smoke. I then explained to James as its Attack Points increased to 1100, "And now since I successfully summoned Plushy Mage to my field, I get a random spell card from my Deck. Plushy Mage, activate your special ability, Plushy Power!"

At my words, the gem on Plushy Mage's staff glowed blue, along with a card near the bottom of my Deck, which slid outward and was plucked out by me. I looked to the card I had gotten and saw that it was none other than Plushy Spirit Box! I hid my surprise from James as I thought to myself, 'I can't believe it, if I sacrifice Plushy Mage next turn and summon Patchwork Plushy, then use Plushy Conversion, I can wipe out all his monsters and deal a huge blow to his Life Points!'

I told James, "Now I'm going to activate the effect of Plushy Castle! If I send a Plushy monster in my hand to the Graveyard, I can summon one from my Deck, as long as its level is equal to or lower than the monster I sacrificed, so I'll sacrifice Mush Plushy in order to summon Plushy Zombie in Defense Mode!"

I slid Mush Plushy's card into my Graveyard, and another card in my Deck slid outward, this one approximately in the middle. I plucked Plushy Zombie from my deck and placed it sideways on my Duel Disc. I told James, "And now thanks to Plushy Zombie's Special Ability, when I successfully summon it to the field, it can bring a Plushy out of the Graveyard with it! So I'll bring back the Plushy Soldier you destroyed!"

With that, a hole appeared in the ground and a rope flopped out in front of Plushy Zombie, who grabbed hold of it and tugged, bringing the Plushy Soldier that was on the other end out onto the field. Plushy Zombie and Plushy Soldier's ATK increased to 400 and 1000 respectively.

My maneuver over, I told James, "I end my turn for now, so give me your best shot!" With that, James chuckled lowly and drew a card, telling me, "Oh, I intend to. Tell me, why didn't you destroy Black Pawn on your last turn?"

Confused, I asked him, "Why do you ask?" James chuckled again and told me, "Oh, no reason, it just seemed a bit iffy is all. After all, he only has 800 ATK points to Plushy Mage's 1100. It would be easy to destroy him and knock out a few of my Life Points, or is it that you have… _plans_ for those points?"

My eyes widened in surprise at his words, and he chuckled as I thought to myself, 'He knows!' James then said, "Or maybe I'm just being paranoid. Either way, I think I'll activate my Deck Master's Special Ability, Stolen Tactics!"

Ares raised his spear up and a blank card appeared on James' side of the field, and he explained to me, "Ares' Deck Master Ability allows me to name a spell card, and if you have it in your hand, I can activate it on my side of the field instead! A spell card like say, Plushy Conversion?"

I gasped at his words and, in shock, asked him, "How did you know I had Plushy Conversion in my hand?" James chuckled with a disturbing smile on his face and told me, "You just told me."

I growled as I realized I had just gotten tricked, and James exclaimed, "Ares, steal Plushy Conversion!" At that, Ares raised its spear once more, and Plushy Conversion appeared on the blank card, and with puffs of smoke, Black Pawn and White Knight both transformed into Plushys. James smugly asked me, "And wasn't there something you said earlier? Something about how Vehement Chessboard only affects Plushys now?"

With that, Black Pawn's ATK increased to 1200 from both Vehement Chessboard and Plushy Castle, and White Knight's shot up to 400, leaving both of their DEF untouched. James then placed a card in one of the spell slots in his Duel Disc and told me, "Now I think I'll sacrifice Black Pawn in order to summon Black Knight in Attack Mode, then I'll place a face-down card and end my turn. I think that'll do for now, your turn."

His monster appeared in place of Black Pawn, identical to White Knight with the exception of a sword in the place of the shield and the black coloring to its armor. Its ATK increased to 1400 as it transformed into a Plushy and moved to stand in front of White Knight.

Confusion entered my mind as I asked myself, 'Why didn't he destroy Plushy Mage? He knows I'm going to sacrifice him to summon Patchwork Plushy and use Plushy Spirit Box in order to summon Plushy Neko Girl, so why would he let me do it? Heck, he even helped me by summoning Black Knight.'

I had an "ah-ha!" moment as I continued thinking, 'Unless he's counting on it! That face-down card he placed must be a trap that'll activate once I try to summon Plushy Neko Girl.'

I considered my options, and something else occurred to me as I looked at the cards in my hand, and I thought, 'Unless it's a bluff, and he wants me to think that so that I won't summon Plushy Neko Girl. What do I do?'

I looked at the field and the cards in my hand, and it became increasingly clear to me that I had only one option, as much as I didn't want to do it. I growled as I placed Card Destruction in my Duel Disc and told James, "I activate the spell Card Destruction! Now we both discard our hands and then draw cards until we have the same amount of cards we threw away!"

With that, the both of us discarded our hands and drew new ones. I looked to the cards in my hand and I saw that I had drawn Robo Kitten, Heart of Clear Water, Golden Thread, and Plushy Pillow. I nodded in determination as a plan started forming in my mind. 'I'll need to buy some time to prepare it though.' I thought to myself, and then placed Robo Kitten's card on my Duel Disc and told James, "I now summon Robo Kitten to the field in defense mode!"

With a bolt of lightning, Robo Kitten appeared on my field. Like I had seen on its card, it was a Light Thunder monster in the shape of a black and blue mechanical cat with a screen for a face with blue lights forming the pattern of its eyes, nose, and mouth, two tubular blue light bulbs for ears, and an electrical plug for a tail. It meowed robotically as its ATK and DEF showed 500 and 600 respectively, and its ATK increased to 700 as it transformed into a Plushy. It was crouched like a cat about to pounce as one of its blue paws lit up. I told James, "Now I'll equip Robo Kitten with Heart of Clear Water. While Robo Kitten's equipped with this card, it can't be destroyed by an attack, a spell or trap card, or a monster effect, so get used to her because she's here to stay!"

I slid Heart of Clear Water and Golden Thread into my duel disc and told James as Robo Kitten lit up with a blue glow, "Then I'll place a face-down card and end my turn. Your move."

Throughout my planning, James had stood quietly, not reacting to the cards I had used, but now he gave me a grudging smile and told me, "You're smarter than I gave you credit for, Kara. I underestimated you, but that won't happen again. From my hand, I activate the spell card Blank Shot. This lets me attack with a White Monster that's joined together with a Black monster, and if that attack fails, I get to move a Black monster from my graveyard to my hand! So White Knight, attack Robo Kitten!"

Blank Shot appeared on his field, with a design that showed a White Pawn holding a sword. White Knight then rushed over to Robo Kitten and bashed it with its shield. The attack didn't connect due to the blue light however, and as White Knight retreated, James retrieved Black Pawn's card from his graveyard. He then told me, "Now I'll summon Black Pawn to my field in attack mode!"

Black Pawn then reappeared on James' field with 1200 ATK as he placed its card on his duel disc, and he told me, "That'll do for now. Your move, Ms. Akaroe."

I nodded and drew a card, looking at it as another of Robo Kitten's paws lit up. Thankfully, this went unnoticed by James as I placed the card I had just drawn, Hoshiningen, into my hand along with Plushy Pillow. I then withdrew Plushy Pillow and placed it on my last monster slot, telling James, "I summon Plushy Pillow in Defense Mode, and while he's face-up on the field, you can't attack any other Plushy monster besides him, so give us your best shot! With that, I end my turn."

Plushy Pillow's ATK increased to 400 as James drew a card, then grinned and told me, "Oh, I intend to, starting with the spell card Best Defense! This card forces one of your monsters to attack a Black monster that's in attack mode on my side of the field that doesn't already have a White monster along with it, and if that attack would destroy my monster at its original ATK, the matching White monster comes up from the Graveyard to defend it, then goes directly into my hand!"

James chuckled smugly and said, "So Plushy Mage, if you would kindly attack Black Pawn…" He left that sentence hanging as Plushy Mage ran towards Black Pawn as the latter's ATK decreased to 800. Before his staff could connect however, a card shining white rose from the ground and blocked it, then zoomed into James' hand. As Plushy Mage went back to his original spot and Black Pawn's ATK went back up to 1200, James placed White Pawn's card on top of Black Pawn's and told me, "Now I'll summon White Pawn and join him with Black Pawn."

White Pawn appeared behind Black Pawn, and as its ATK increased to 200 and its DEF increased to 1000, James told me, "That'll do for now. Your move." I nodded and drew a card as a third paw of Robo Kitten's lit up, and seeing that it was Plushy Fairy, I told James, "My monster zones are full, so I'll end my turn."

James smiled and drew a card, and seeing it, smiled eerily and told me, "I hope you enjoyed our duel up until now, because you won't enjoy the rest of it. I sacrifice Black Pawn and Black Knight to summon Black King!"

He removed Black Pawn and Knight's cards from his duel disc and placed them both into his graveyard, then placed the card he had just drawn on the monster space directly to the left of the middle. Both of the Black monsters disappeared to be replaced with a towering figure that stood head and shoulders shorter than Ares. Despite this, it was still imposing, wearing black armor and a black crown, with a short white beard and white hair, and carrying a broadsword as big as its body in a sheath on its back, the pommel shaped like the top of a King piece. It was a Dark Warrior, with 2000 ATK and 0 DEF, and its ATK increased to 2400 as it transformed into a Plushy with no change in size.

James then pointed at Plushy Pillow and told Black King, "Now Black King, destroy Plushy Pillow!" Black King then drew its sword and rushed over to Plushy Pillow, but before he reached it, I pressed a button on my Duel Disc and exclaimed, "I activate my trap card, Golden Thread! When you attack a face-up Plushy monster on my side of the field, I can equip this card onto it and prevent it from being destroyed!"

Golden Thread flipped up on my field and the threads holding Plushy Pillow together turned to gold a second before Black Knight's sword connected with it. James growled in annoyance as Black King returned to its position and told me, "A minor setback. That card might've saved you this turn, but it can't save you forever. I'll end my turn for now."

I nodded and drew a card as Robo Kitten's last paw started glowing, and looked at the card to see that it was Re-Sewn. I nodded determinedly and told James while sliding it into my Duel Disc, "I activate the spell card Re-Sewn! This spell lets me swap one Plushy monster in my hand for one in my graveyard, so I'll send Plushy Fairy to the graveyard in order to bring back Patchwork Plushy!"

I slid both Re-Sewn and Plushy Fairy into my graveyard and retrieved Patchwork Plushy's card in their place. I then told James, "And now I'll sacrifice Plushy Zombie in order to summon her! Patchwork Plushy, it's your time to shine!"

I removed Plushy Zombie's card from my Duel Disc and deposited it in my graveyard as well, then placed Patchwork Plushy's in its place. With a puff of smoke and a loud squeak, the patch doll appeared on my field, crouched on all fours. It's ATK increased to 1800, then to 4200 as I explained to James, "And thanks to Patchwork Plushy's Special Ability, her ATK goes up by 300 for every Plushy on the field, including herself! Now Patchwork Plushy, destroy Black King!"

Patchwork Plushy rose up and charged at Black King, jumping into the air with her paw cocked back to strike Black King, but before she could connect, James shouted out, "I activate the Special Ability of the White Queen in my deck! If Black King is attacked and would be destroyed in battle, I can sacrifice two White monsters on my side of the field to summon her to the field to defend him! So I sacrifice White Pawn and Knight in order to activate White Queen's special ability!"

Both White Pawn and White Knight both disappeared from the field to be replaced with an elegant-looking woman the same height as Black King, wearing a long, flowing white gown with a white crown that sat upon black hair that went down to her mid-back tied into a braid. She bore an oversized white shield adorned with jewels and was a Light Warrior with 0 ATK and 2000 DEF, which increased to 200 ATK and 2200 DEF as she became a Plushy, again with no decrease in size. Her shield blocked Patchwork Plushy's ATK and she retreated to her normal space on my field as White Queen took the one to the right of the middle space on James' and Patchwork Plushy's ATK decreased to 3900.

Getting a bad feeling, I switched the positions of my other monsters and told James, "I switch Plushy Soldier and Plushy Mage into Defense Mode and end my turn." James then drew a card as the two mentioned monsters took on defensive stances.

James told me, "Since I'm getting rather tired of this duel, I think I'll end it now. I call my Deck Master onto the field! Ares, smite these worms!" Ares moved from his place beside James into the middle monster space on his field as his ATK and DEF showed 2300 and 2000 respectively. James then told me, "Now I'll activate Ares' Special Ability! If a trap card on your field would prevent Ares from destroying a monster on your side of the field, Ares can tear right through it! So now Ares, destroy Plushy Pillow!"

Ares charged Plushy Pillow with his spear and ran through it, and with a squeak, both it and Golden Thread were destroyed. James then called out, "Now Black King, destroy Plushy Mage!"

Plushy Mage was then destroyed by Black King, and as Patchwork Plushy's ATK decreased down to 3300, James told me, "That ends my turn. Your move." I then drew a card, but before I could see what it was, I noticed that Ares wasn't becoming a Plushy, I asked him, "Care to explain why Ares isn't made of cloth by now?"

James chuckled and told me, "You didn't really think that a Deity such as Ares would have only one Special Ability, did you? In addition to being able to negate traps that would prevent it from destroying a monster, Ares isn't affected by spell cards that would change its Type, Attribute, or Archetype. So he won't be adding to Patchwork Plushy's ATK. Sorry to disappoint you. But if it helps, you'll be happy to know that Ares gains 1000 ATK points for every soldier under his command at the end of each turn."

Once he had finished speaking, Ares' ATK shot up to 4200, and I growled in frustration. I looked to the card in my hand and saw that it was Pot of Greed. With no other options, I slid it into my Duel Disc as Robo Kitten's left ear lit up and told James, "I activate the spell Pot of Greed! Now I get to draw two more cards from my deck!"

I drew two cards, and seeing that they were Plushy Piggy and Counter Plus, I thought to myself, 'I need to end this duel now, before Ares gets more ATK. And I've got the perfect cards to do it with.'

I told James, "I summon Plushy Piggy to the field in attack mode!" I placed Plushy Piggy's card onto my Duel Disc and it appeared on the field with a puff of smoke and a squeak. Its ATK increased to 1100 from Plushy Castle's effect and Patchwork Plushy's increased to 3600, and I told James, "Now I activate the spell card Counter Plus! If a monster on my field has a Counter on it, I can add another one!"

"Counter?" James asked me in confusion, and I responded, "That's right, like the five Electro Counters Robo Kitten has! And with this spell card, it makes six!"

Robo Kitten's right ear lit up as Counter Plus appeared on my field, showing a plain blue counter next to a green plus sign, disappearing once the ear was glowing. I then shifted her card, telling James, "And now I'll switch Robo Kitten into attack mode!" Robo Kitten straightened up, and all of the lights on its paws and ears glowed brighter before absorbing into its body, and she let out a robotic meow that shook the field as her ATK increased to 3700. James stepped backward in shock, and I explained to him, "I can see you're confused. You see, for every turn that Robo Kitten is on my field in defense mode, she gains one Electro Counter, with a maximum of six. And once she's switched into Attack Mode, all of her counters are automatically removed, and she gains 500 ATK for each one."

James growled and told me, "It doesn't matter if you do destroy White Queen, you won't do enough damage to my Life Points to win the duel!"

I smirked and told James, "That's where Plushy Piggy comes in. You see, once per turn, Plushy Piggy can absorb the ATK of another Plushy on my field, and then give those ATK to another Plushy monster, so Plushy Piggy, absorb the ATK from Patchwork Plushy and transfer it to Robo Kitten!"

Plushy Piggy turned to Patchwork Plushy and inhaled through his nose. As he did, white light from Patchwork Plushy and was absorbed into Plushy Piggy, who increased in size. Once Patchwork Plushy's ATK showed zero, Plushy Piggy turned to Robo Kitten and exhaled through its nose, the white light being absorbed into Robo Kitten until her ATK increased to 7300. At this, James stepped backward fearfully and panickedly told me, "H-hang on now, I told you the consequences were real in this duel! If you attack White Queen and reduce my Life Points to zero, I-I'll be deleted! Do you really want to be responsible for that?"

"No." I told him, and once he sighed in relief, I told him, "That's why I'm going to attack Ares and end the duel! As your Deck Master, you'll lose if he's destroyed! Now Robo Kitten, save James from himself and destroy Ares, God of War!"

Robo Kitten lifted her tail and started charging electricity into the form of a ball of yarn at the end of the plug, and as it reached the size of a basketball, I told her, "Now Robo Kitten, attack with Static Yarn Smash!"

Robo Kitten then charged at the Deity monster and jumped into the air, flipping over and crashing her electric yarn ball into Ares and knocking him back as he shattered into pieces. Once he was gone, James began screaming in pain as red light began crackling up and down body before flowing out of the sword pattern on his hand and into Ares' card. Once it had ended, our monsters disappeared from the field and the Training Gym returned to normal as James fell to the ground on his face, unconscious. As both of our Duel Discs disappeared, Rhea, Jacob, Max and I walked up to James and Rhea flipped him over. After feeling his neck for a pulse, Rhea sighed in relief and told us, "He's fine, he's just passed out."

The four of us smiled in relief, but it was cut short as a deep, disembodied voice echoed through the Training Gym, telling us, "He may be safe, but the same cannot be said for your, Kara Akaroe!"

To Be Continued.


	31. The Second Deity Part Two

Hello Everyone this is IndigoWerewolf with the next chapter of Duel Monsters Virtual. This chapter will be the continuation of the last one. I am sorry for, once more, not updating for so long, but I switched jobs about four months ago and I am working a lot more now, so I'll be writing when I can and am not experiencing writer's block. With that said, I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!, let's read!

Last Time-The four of us smiled in relief, but it was cut short as a deep, disembodied voice echoed through the Training Room, telling us, "He may be safe, but the same cannot be said for you, Kara Akaroe!"

Now-Max, Jacob, Rhea and I looked around us looking for the voice, but we weren't looking for long when we saw a black light pulse from the middle of the room, and we all turned our heads to see Ares' card rise up to head height and glow intensely before flashing, Ares appearing before us. We all gasped in surprise at the sight, and Ares smirked, his voice sounding out without him moving his lips, "Why so surprised, Ms. Akaroe? Did no one tell you what must be done to earn a Deity's loyalty?"

My breath hitched as I recalled Seto's words, and I muttered, "You have to defeat them in a duel… And in combat."

Ares' telepathic voice rang through our minds once more, telling us, "So you do know. Now, let us not waste any time. Draw your blade."

My dagger flashed into existence before me, dropping into my hands, but before I removed it from its sheath I looked back to the others, then back to Ares, and my face set in a determined expression before I told him, "First you have to promise to keep my friends out of it. That goes for the other Players here, too."

Max, Rhea, and Jacob gasped as Ares chuckled in his mind and a broad grin appeared on his face, and he asked me, "You would prefer to keep this amongst the two of us, eh? Very well, I agree to your terms."

At that, he knocked the butt of his spear on the ground and a section of the Training Room's wall pushed backwards, creating a square-shaped cavern in the room, and in a flash of light, all of the Players in the gym along with Rhea, Max, James, and Jacob were inside, and a wall of fire separated them from the rest of the gym, clearing the area for us.

Now that I knew my friends were safe, I knew that I could fight without worrying, and I drew my dagger from its sheath, which dematerialized as soon as the tip of the blade had left it, and I held my dagger in a reverse grip as I faced Ares down. He readied his spear and shield as he did the same, and we both rushed at each other simultaneously. As we reached each other, I flapped my wings and jumped up, boosting off of his shoulders and turning in midair, charging up and firing off a huge Shadow Dart with my middle and pointer finger together, hitting him square in the head.

It didn't seem to have any effect on him however, as he turned faster than I could react and slammed the shaft of his spear into me, pinning me to the wall as I coughed out, a gout of blood escaping from my mouth and splattering onto the ground. He withdrew his weapon and let me drop to the floor, hacking and coughing. I wiped the blood from my mouth as I shakily stood up, my wings flaring up in pain. I raised my head to look at Ares, who was simply standing in the same place as before, and I asked him, the sarcasm dripping from my mouth along with the blood, "Not going to fight back?"

Ares replied to me, "I take no pleasure in wailing endlessly on an opponent. This is a test of your strength, Player, not my own. Now take up arms once more and strike me!"

I nodded determinedly and ran at Ares again, switching my dagger into a regular grip and feinted like I was going to jump up again, but instead I dropped to my knees and slid between his legs, not looking up until I was safely on the other side of him, and turning, I once again charged my Shadow Dart, this time aiming two regular-sized once at the backs of his knees, trying to cripple him, but was unsuccessful as he swept his spear across the floor, catching me with the shaft again and slamming me against the wall, causing me to cry out once again in pain.

Ares withdrew his spear again, and as I lay shivering on the floor, my left wing broken and my body in pain, I struggled to rise once more. As I lay on the ground, Ares' voice sounded out in my mind, asking me, "Is this the apex of your ability, Ms. Akaroe? Will you lose me to your own weakness, and release me to possess another Player, putting them and countless more in peril? Can you bear that burden, knowing you could have prevented it?"

My hand curled into a fist on the ground, and I slowly rose to my feet as I muttered, "No. No I won't."

My eyes were obscured by shadows as I shouted out, "I'll never let that happen!"

I ran at Ares, my hair whipping around and revealing my eyes, which had a wild look to them as I growled out. I jumped up and slashed at Ares' face, but had no result once again as he batted me away with his shield and I tumbled across the floor. I got up once again and rushed him, stabbing at his chest, only to meet the same result.

Rhea's POV

Max, Jacob, and I watched on in horror as Kara was knocked around the Training Gym time and again, only to get up and charge once more, her injuries increasing with each run. There were tears in my eyes as I begged her quietly, "Please, stop Kara. You don't have to do this. You don't have to prove anything to us. Please, just stop."

"She can't stop." I heard behind me, and we all looked behind us to see that James had awoken and sat up, watching the fight, no, the slaughter go on. "James!" We all exclaimed, and rushed to his side. We helped him to his feet, and I asked him, "What do you mean she can't stop? She's getting destroyed out there, if this keeps up she'll be defeated and respawn!"

James had his eyes locked on the battle as he told us reverently, "Being possessed by Ares, I had no control. All of my anger, my resentment, it all flooded to the surface and took me over. Kara knows that, and she also knows that if she loses this fight, Ares will reappear somewhere else, and whoever he possesses will go through the same thing, only Kara won't be there to stop them, and won't get there in time to stop them from doing some serious damage, maybe irreversible damage. She knows all of this, and she won't let it happen. If she loses this fight, she'll never forgive herself, because she'll feel personally responsible for anything that happens afterwards."

As we took in James' words and turned back to the fight, I asked James, "Is there nothing we can do to help her?"

James closed his eyes and shook his head, telling us, "Nothing but believe in her."

Almost immediately afterwards, there was a flash of golden light from the main room of the gym, and we all looked towards it to see that it was coming from Kara.

Kara's POV

As I picked myself up off the ground again, a flash of gold light came from my pocket, and I felt inside and drew out the source of the glow. "The Transmogrification card." I muttered.

As the card glowed brighter, white cracks appeared in its surface and spreading before it completely shattered, the pieces floating away a bit before halting and zooming back to me, absorbing into my chest as white energy. Nothing happened for a moment, but then a huge gust of wind poured out from the spot where I was standing, creating a twister with me at the epicenter. Energy washed over my body as my wounds knit shut and my bones reset, until I was completely whole again. A wheel appeared before me, made of all of the different Type emblems, and the Spellcaster emblem expanded to fill the whole wheel, and pulsed, sending a change once more through me.

I knew what was happening in that moment, and as my wings turned into fragments of light and floated up, blinking out of existence above me, I told Ares, "This ends now. I won't let you hurt anyone ever again."

The winds stopped once the process was done, and I stood before Ares, wingless, and as the Spellcaster Type, with mana surging through my body, my already formidable magic skills becoming supercharged. I shifted my stance and rushed forward with my dagger in a reverse grip, flashing forwards in an instant. Once the wind had settled, blood gushed from Ares' leg as he cried out in pain and fell down to one knee. I turned around as he did the same, and as he thrust his spear at me, I thrust my hand out, and shot a Dark Whip through the center, the weapon shattering and my attack piercing his hand as he roared in pain again and I used the whip to bind his hand, connecting the other end to the ground next to him, pinning his hand.

I then sent a Shadow Pulse at him, the shockwave shattering his shield and releasing his other hand. I bound it to the ground as well, and as I stood before him, I told Ares, "Your reign of terror ends here, Ares. I'm going to end you, and then I'll end anyone else that tries to harm the virtual world OR its inhabitants."

I spun a Dark Whip into a crescent shape and connected the two ends with a flexible second whip, creating a bow. I drew the string, creating a gigantic Shadow Dart in the shape of an arrow, the projectile spinning in place and gathering power as I told Ares, "I won't let you or anyone else hurt these people. I'll protect them until my last breath, because that's what it means to be a Player!"

I released the string of my bow, shouting out, "Black… Arrow!" As I did so, the attack flew forward and pierced Ares' heart as he flew backwards with the force, the binds breaking. Time seemed to slow down as Ares' voice sounded out clear in my mind, telling me, "Well done Ms. Akaroe. You have proven yourself worthy, and so you have my loyalty. Be warned however, now that you have two Deities you will find yourself hunted by the other Chosen Ones. They will seek to take us from you, and due to your new power you will not be able to call on us so easily. I will aid you when I can but it must be you to earn the others' respect. Fare thee well, Ms. Akaroe."

With that, his body shattered into light and his card appeared in my hand, which I tucked into my Deck Holster after a wondering look. The wall of fire disappeared and my friends and fellow Players rushed over, congratulating me and hugging me in a whirlwind of gratitude before I was finally able to get to the Warp Panel and warp to my Apartment, completely drained, and dropped onto my bed exhaustedly, stripping out of my clothes until I was as naked as the day I was born, then pulled the covers over me and passed out.

And that's the end of that chapter. I personally like this chapter but I want to hear what you all think, so please leave a review if you liked it, but no flames!


End file.
